By Sonja Hakala, AIRS Senior Strategist

Forget what you know about the stereotypical Mexican town; today's Mexico has shed its third-world image. With the help of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and widely available advances in technology, Mexico is starting to thrive in a new 21st Century economy.

"NAFTA brought great change to Mexico," said Fernando Ortiz Barbachano, the president of Barbachano International Professional Search in Chula Vista. "It has been so successful the Mexican government has also negotiated free trade agreements with the EU (European Union), Chile and other Latin American countries."

NAFTA Stimulates Mexico's Economy

Implemented in 1994, NAFTA established a free trade zone among Canada, the United States and Mexico. While the agreement was criticized for its negative impact on the environment and labor relations (remember Ross Perot's "giant sucking sound"?), the free flow of goods, commerce and people stimulated by NAFTA has catapulted Mexico into the New Economy.

"The economy of Mexico really started to grow in 1994," said Jens Hagedorn. Along with Carlos Kingwergs, Hagedorn is co-manager of the Management Recruiters International (MRI) branch in Cuernavaca, Mexico. "Now we see companies who are looking for bilingual and bicultural candidates who know how to do business internationally."

Explosive Growth Turns to a Demand for Tech Workers

Mexico's startling transformation is based on the explosive growth of its manufacturing sector. But this great economic engine propels Mexico forward, at least partially, because of the productivity gains derived from technology and the influx of highly skilled talent. In turn, the need for technically proficient employees is pushing change in Mexico's educational system.

Monterrey Is It

Even a casual visitor to a Web site dedicated to all things Mexican, such as Mexico Connect, can't help but be impressed by the number of bilingual schools springing up in the country. Then there's the growing list of colleges hoping to attract students with their technical education programs. Emerging as the front-runner in the race to educate Mexico's technical graduates is the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. This institution is the shining pinnacle of the Mexican IT mountain.

"Tec de Monterrey is the Stanford of the south," Barbachano said. "Its graduates are very well-trained and make very desirable candidates." They should be: ITESM is affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Monterrey is the capital of Nuevo León, a landlocked state that shares a short border with Texas before extending along the eastern edge of the Sierra Madre mountains and into the Mexican desert. Once considered a grimy industrial city, Monterrey now boasts a burgeoning center of new skyscrapers that house the headquarters of major electronics industry players, such as SCI, Celectica and Solectron.

The opportunities for growth in Nuevo León are widely recognized, especially by its state government. As of the last fiscal year, 63% of the state budget was tagged to support schools and colleges. Its people are now the best educated in the country and e-businesses are taking notice. In the past twelve months, 20 dot.coms have started up in Monterrey.

To TN or H-1B, That Is the Question

Under certain circumstances, all of the free trade agreement, educational programs and economic growth would make Monterrey, Guadalajara (the Silicon Valley of the south), as well as greater Mexico, an attractive place for recruiters to look for candidates. But even in Mexico, the refrain of the job market blues is all too familiar; the competition for talent is fierce and getting tougher all the time.

"More corporations are coming to Mexico and it's having a big impact on staffing down here," said Hagedorn. That doesn't mean there's no one moving north from Mexico. "We are seeing people emigrating from Mexico to the U.S. in the healthcare and telecommunications industries," Jennifer Simmons said. She works for Immigration Specialties in Broken Arrow, OK. "And the type of candidate dictates the type of visa that an employer wants to get."

The TN Is Tougher from Mexico

The Trade NAFTA visa, or TN visa, was designed to allow job candidates to cross North American borders with little or no waiting time. Unlike the streamlined TN visa process that Canadians can use to work in the U.S. (paperwork is filed at the border and the visa is issued on the spot), getting a TN for a Mexican candidate is more convoluted. In fact, according to Simmons, it takes the same amount of time to get a Mexican TN as it does to get an H-1B, anywhere from six weeks to six months.

A Difference of Degree

How to choose? The difference is one of degrees - literally, college degrees. Both TN and H-1B visas are targeted toward people who are professionals in their fields. But nearly every professional category eligible for H-1B stipulates a minimum of a bachelor's degree. This requirement leaves the TN visa as the best available option for candidates in fields such as nursing and medical technology.

"TN is the way to go for healthcare professionals other than physicians," Simmons explained. "I've seen a big surge in these types of candidates looking for TN visas over the past year."

There are two other visa considerations that should give prospective employers pause for thought. By definition, a TN visa is temporary. Unlike an H-1B, there's no space on a TN application that asks whether a candidate intends to emigrate. So if a worker decides to apply for a green card, she or he must start the immigration process from square one. H-1B visa holders can automatically apply for a green card.

Timing Is Everything

There's also a matter of timing. TN visas are issued only for twelve months at a time, though they can be renewed again and again. H-1Bs are good for three years and may be renewed for a second three-year period.

-- Sonja Hakala is a writer, editor and communication specialist with numerous credentials in journalism and book publishing. She is a Senior Strategist with the AIRS Course Development team and regular contributor to AIRS content. This article is reprinted by permission from AIRS, a global leader in Internet recruitment, tools, news and information. For more information on AIRS, please go to: http://www.CollegeRecruiter.com/pages/airs.php. Copyright © Hanover Capital Management Corporation 1997-2001. All Rights Reserved

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