Massachusetts and the nation are experiencing a shortfall of workers properly equipped with the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and skills necessary for success in an innovation economy.

 

Growth in our domestic STEM student supply is flat

Over the past twenty years the number of students graduating from STEM programs at US universities has remained essentially unchanged. During this same period, demand for science and engineering workers has grown at more than four times the rate of the overall US workforce.

 

Foreign national workers filled the gap between domestic supply and workforce demand during the 1990s. However, post September 11, 2001, visa applications and approvals have declined while education and work opportunities internationally have increased. This has constrained the available supply of international talent entering the US market. This trend is likely to continue and even increase as the developing economies of India, China, and Asia accelerate their growth.

 

Metro South/West Regional Employment Board's Technology Initiative analyzed data from the National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators Report–2004 to quantify the STEM workforce gap.

 

Several key factors were considered in calculating the workforce gap:

 

• Historical STEM workforce growth of 4.9% adjusted to reflect current low growth economy
• Reductions by 20-30% in the growth rate of foreign national students and workers
• Retirement rates rising from 3.8% to 7.1% reflecting the aging of the Baby Boomers
• Vulnerability of Massachusetts' disproportionately large STEM workforce—14%

 

Private and public sectors need to collaborate to meet this challenge

Business is exploring employee retention, phased retirement, and retraining.

 

Colleges offering STEM bachelor degree programs are working to improve upon their graduation yield. Currently, only 50% of students enrolled in STEM programs complete the degree requirements in six years.

K-12 school systems are beginning to address how to better prepare, engage and excite a significantly higher number of domestic students to pursue advanced STEM curriculum, thus priming the front end of the higher education/workforce pipeline.