CEOs Take On STEM Skills Gap With Own Initiatives
A group of 100 CEO leaders, honored earlier this year for their work to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, primarily will focus on five strategies as they advance the cause, according to an analysis by one of the CEO’s companies.
The leaders—whose businesses represent combined revenues of more than $3.27 trillion, and who employ 7.6 million people—were selected by STEMConnector, an organization that works to identify, inform, and connect entities working in STEM education and careers. The CEOs, who run companies from Accenture to Wal-Mart, were featured in a publication, and the IT company of one of those leaders, Natarajan Chandrasekaran of Tata Consultancy Services, conducted an analysis of the CEOs’ responses about STEM to find what commitments they share. The 100 CEOs say they will:
- Understand and train for critical STEM skills and experiences their organizations need to succeed;
- Invest in STEM education with public and private organizations, establishing mentorships and apprenticeships;
- Increase employees’ awareness of STEM challenges and establish cross-departmental alignment on STEM company initiatives;
- Encourage them to get involved with STEM initiatives outside of work to help motivate future STEM employees; and,
- Change perceptions within their communities by educating students, teachers, career counselors, and parents about the various and promising career opportunities requiring STEM skills.
“Some (CEOs) will implement two or three of these steps. Some will implement all,” said Balaji Ganapathy, head of workforce effectiveness, TCS North America, whose business conducted the analysis of the “100 CEO” report.
The company released a white paper on its mapping analysis of the CEO STEM report, and here’s StemConnector’s release about selection of the CEOs.
A report earlier this year found that STEM interest is rising among high school students.
In the meantime, Education Week’s Education Futures blogger Matthew Lynch writes that, in 2014, some STEM initiatives are losing their funding—but he asks if anyone cares.
And Stephen Krashen, a professor emeritus at the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California-Los Angeles, questions whether there are enough STEM jobs for all the STEM graduates of the future in his letter to the editor, “STEM Preparation, Career Link Overstated.”
Hopefully, they will understand that improving STEM education is a complicated and challenging task that requires the participation of knowledgeable STEM educators. An example of the kind of development that will be required is the work of the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF) which has math and science teachers across the country. These teachers are deeply steeped in content and participate in a five year fellowship of support. They are also are engaged in working with other teachers in KSTF and in their local schools and districts.
In case anyone is interested in some studies showing there is no STEM crisis:
Salzman, H. & Lowell, B. L. 2007. Into the Eye of the Storm: Assessing the Evidence on Science and Engineering Education, Quality, and Workforce Demand. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1034801
Salzman, H. and Lowell, L. 2008. Making the grade. Nature 453 (1): 28-30.
Salzman, H. 2012. No Shortage of Qualified American STEM Grads (5/25/12) http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-foreign-stem-graduates-get-green-cards/no-shortage-of-qualified-american-stem-grads.
See also:
Teitelbaum, M. 2007. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation. Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC, November 6, 2007
I agree that there is no STEM crisis. I have 4 STEM degrees and I cannot get a job. I also know that there are about 6 engineers applying for every engineering job out there. There are not enough STEM jobs to go around. I’ve got to wonder why Gates and other powerful/rich people are pushing this so much. I am guessing it is supply and demand. With a large supply and low demand the rich can afford to pay lower wages across the board, thus making them even richer.