The Indian IT global outsourcing firm Infosys (NYSE: INFY), recently announced that it plans to hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years.

Infosys and other India-based information technology consulting companies have come under fire lately for their use of the H-1B visa program. These foreign consulting firms have been the leading sponsors of H-1B visa holders for some years now and have been criticized for allegedly displacing American IT workers.

To counter this backlash, Infosys will open four new Technology and Innovation Hubs across the country focusing on cutting-edge technology areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, the cloud, and big data. These four hubs will not only have technology and innovation focus areas, but will closely serve clients in key industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, energy and more.

The first hub, which will open in Indiana in August 2017, is expected to create 2,000 jobs by 2021 for American workers and will help boost Indiana’s economy. North Carolina will host the second hub and Infosys announced it will work with the North Carolina Community College system to create a customized tech program.

Why Not Beaver County?

What about Beaver County as the next Infosys hub? Think about it…

Beaver County is the site of the largest capital investment project in the State of Pennsylvania since WWII – the $6 billion Shell Cracker. Some 6,000 workers from a myriad of construction and industrial trades will bring the plant to life. However, a critical part of this build will emanate from the Industrial Internet of Things. Hundreds of millions of dollars of this build will evolve around software, data analytics and physical equipment connected digitally to a secure and failsafe industrial process control network..

The Shell Cracker will usher into Southwestern Pennsylvania a new era in advanced manufacturing, requiring new skills tied to the digital world. An Infosys Hub in partnership with the local community college in Beaver County and tailored to a customized advanced manufacturing technology training programs would greatly benefit the county’s residents as well as the entire workforce of our region.

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