High-tech tycoons descended on Capitol Hill last week to tell Congress' Joint Economic Committee they believe the government should focus more on public education as a long-term solution to the lack of skilled workers.

More than 345,000 technology jobs are going unfilled because many Americans lack the math and science skills high-tech firms require. Although Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said lawmakers should update requirements for K-12 education, no executive offered specific solutions, the New York Times reports.

"Our interest was not being provocative and not weighing in on the more contentious issues," Julie Inman, a Microsoft employee who handles education issues in the company's Washington D.C. office, told the newspaper. "I don't think we'll come up with a prescription. It can be approached in a number of ways."

The testimony from Gates and other executives, including Intel Corp.'s Andy Grove, came during the committee's third annual national summit on high technology and the U.S. economy.

The federal government provides about seven percent of total funds received by elementary and secondary schools, but provides 25 percent of the money those same schools get for technology efforts.

Julie Hamilton, CEO of Classroom Connect, testified before the House-Senate committee, saying lawmakers need to focus on technology training for teachers as a long-term solution.

"It's the role of the states and the federal government to provide a good education," Hamilton told the committee. "I don't think the technology industry has any more responsibility than Proctor and Gamble to push for improvement to the education system."

High-tech companies have been lobbying Congress for the past three years to boost the number of visas to hire skilled foreign workers as a way to fill the vacant jobs, but industry leaders say they realize this is only a short-term solution, the Times reports.

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