Raising the Bar on Tech in Delaware

BY MARK HUTTON

IF THE CUSTOMER is indeed always right, then businesses can’t go wrong with customer service. And any conversation about customer service must include questions around how businesses can use technology to improve the customer experience.

So how are you using technology to make your business more efficient? What digital capabilities are you offering to help your customer do business with you?

How about this one: What are you doing to support the growth and development of the local technology ecosystem that will fuel your business for years to come?

If we want Delaware’s economy to thrive and its business community to grow, that’s a question all of us need to be asking ourselves. It is up to all of us to take ownership of the things we can do today to create better outcomes for Delaware’s technology community in the future.

Think of it this way: Every company is a tech company these days. You can’t survive without it. The more we invest in technology in Delaware, the more we all will benefit.

But it’s not so simple. There’s a shortage of techrelated workers in our state right now—and signs don’t point to that changing quickly or drastically. Tech-related jobs didn’t make the Hiring Reform Project’s list of 20 fastest-growing careers in Delaware through 2030. The state also didn’t make Indeed’s 2022 list of the 10 best states for IT work— but neighboring Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia did.

Delaware’s average yearly salary in IT is lower than those of Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey, while tech employment per 1,000 jobs in Delaware also is below the mark of Virginia or Maryland.

All this adds up to a perception—at least outside our state—that Delaware isn’t a breeding ground for tech jobs or development. Together, we have to change that perception and create a new reality that Delaware is in fact a state that fosters innovation with a tech workforce that is second to none.

How do we do it? Here are a few ideas.

Identify talent early. Find students—middle school, high school and college students—with the interest and aptitude for tech. The Tech Council of Delaware’s Yes, We Tech! program is a great, new example. The seven-week paid summer internship program is designed for rising high school juniors and seniors and gives them on-the-job training working 30 hours a week for some of the Council’s members. Its inaugural cohort graduated this past August.

Create partnerships with the state’s colleges, universities, and organizations focused on tech development. Reach out to the Tech Council’s new Tech Talent & Workforce Committee, which includes representatives from Wilmington University, Delaware College of Art and Design, Delaware Technical Community College, Goldey-Beacom College, Code Differently, Tech Impact, Year Up, and Zip Code Wilmington. These organizations are leading from the front and have a vested interest in our collective success.

Hire local talent. Retaining our top talent is an important way to change the perception about Delaware’s tech ecosystem. Invest in local talent, and those employees will become our state’s best advocates. Over the past few years, M&T Bank has hired several students from Zip Code Wilmington who are doing very important work for us at our Tech Hub right here in Wilmington.

Engage our elected leaders. It’s going to take more than paid internships and sign-on bonuses to create the environment we need. It’s going to take legislative efforts and support to make Delaware a more attractive place for tech companies to do business and trained tech workers to relocate.

As we know, these changes won’t happen without the involvement of Delaware’s business community. It’s going to take a village to help make the changes needed to overcome the challenges Delaware faces in developing a more robust tech ecosystem. I encourage all of us to take ownership of our future success by making technology a priority today.

Mark Hutton is M&T Bank’s regional president for Delaware.