Commentary: Employers Must Take the Lead to Build the STEM Workforce of the Future

It has been half a year since the Trump administration issued a memo, emphasizing the need to educate and train our future workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields with a funding of $200 million. The Education Department’s fiscal 2019 budget reflects this commitment.

While this new federal dedication to STEM is a positive step, it falls short in providing enough resources to support the increasing demand for STEM education. Moreover, we have yet to witness any action from the administration on this matter. According to Code.org, a non-profit organization supported by the tech industry, more than 60% of schools in the United States do not offer computer science courses, despite the existence of 500,000 job opportunities in this field. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated in 2014 that STEM-related jobs were expected to grow by 17% by 2024, making it the fastest-growing sector in the country.

In Arizona, we face a similar challenge. The Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America predicts a 23% growth in the STEM workforce within the next three years alone, with 52,000 new STEM jobs in the state by 2025.

To address this gap, we should take inspiration from leading technology companies in the nation. Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Salesforce, and other smaller employers collectively pledged an additional $300 million to expand STEM education and training opportunities immediately after the release of the budget proposal.

It is now the responsibility of prominent businesses, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions, not only in Arizona but across the country, to follow this example of collaboration. We all share a common goal: to make the United States the fastest-growing technology hub, driven by an active community of employers and an innovative workforce.

To achieve this ambitious vision, employers must increase the number of skilled workers with STEM and specialized technology expertise. This can be accomplished by providing informal and formal learning opportunities that are necessary to fill the growing number of jobs available in these fields.

The first step in this effort is to establish partnerships between technology-driven businesses, non-profit organizations, and academia to expand access to dynamic learning environments. Each stakeholder group has a role to play, from developing industry-aligned curricula to providing interactive, hands-on settings that inspire young individuals to pursue careers in science.

We can begin by leveraging existing networks of employers from diverse sectors who can contribute resources to expand access to practical workforce development opportunities. Projects like the Arizona SciTech Festival and the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair are prime examples of collaboration, bringing together winners from various science fairs to showcase innovative discoveries that have the potential to transform local communities.

These types of learning experiences have the power to shape the future workforce in Arizona and other states. Business and non-profit leaders joined forces to create an experience that nurtures the innovators of tomorrow, and they worked together to support and execute the program.

In order to ensure that students have early, frequent, and applied hands-on STEM learning experiences beyond the regular school day, it is essential that these experiences align with the rapidly growing fields in our state’s workforce. Studies reveal that 95% of STEM learning takes place outside the classroom, and these informal learning environments can facilitate a lifelong engagement with science.

Leading employers must also recognize the need to support STEM educators with project-based learning experiences, enabling them to equip students with the necessary skills to thrive in the workforce. This can be achieved through hands-on educator boot camps led by experienced teachers and facilitators, as well as exposure to STEM-focused programs, competitions, and festivals.

As the federal government’s involvement in STEM education becomes more limited, it is up to state leaders and employers to fulfill President Trump’s imperative and turn this vision into reality.

As a first step, we must establish partnerships across sectors, ranging from schools to businesses, that inspire and empower students to cultivate the skills needed for the future.

Steven G. Zylstra is the President and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, while Chevy Humphrey serves as the Hazel A. Hare President and CEO of the Arizona Science Center.