Milwaukee promises to become a hot job market for IT pros, according to a report by the Greater Milwaukee Committee, which says area colleges won't produce enough tech workers to replace those who retire in the next five years. It says 16 two-year and four-year higher education institutions in the area have 4,112 students in the pipeline, but the region expects 5,751 technology workers to retire over the next five years, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. And the situation poses a real challenge to any business that wants to expand its IT staff, or to start a business there. Only 30 percent of the population in the seven-county area around Milwaukee has any post-secondary education. The committee urges post-secondary schools to more closely align curricula with business needs. Scott Jansen, who heads the group's efforts to study the talent issue, said:

Houston, we have a problem. We have businesses that expect talent to arrive at their door to meet their needs. But students and educators are not fully aligned to meet those needs.

Milwaukee didn't make Dice's recent Top 10 list of fastest-growing tech job markets, but has about 600 positions listed on Dice. The website Manta.com, which focuses on small businesses, lists 27 tech-specific local companies. Yet with technology so deeply embedded in business in every sector, there are numerous openings at larger area employers, which include Rockwell Automation, Kohl's and U.S. Bank.