Liberal Arts majors, listen up: according to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, 80% of the jobs created within the next decade will require a STEM-based education.

Not sure if you’ve got one?

You’re not alone. The growing importance of this national concern was the topic du jour at the San Diego Jewish Academy’s annual STEM brunch last Sunday. Simply put, ‘STEM’ is an acronym for the fields of study in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, and our future depends on it. But there’s a problem.

In the United States, the demand for STEM professionals is increasing exponentially among the progressive 21^st century businesses driving innovation and economic growth, yet the prevalence of these studies among college graduates is on a continued, alarming decline.

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Another great STEM Infographic >

As the infographic above illustrates, the competitiveness of the United States as a future global innovation leader is at stake. And – if you’re one of the majority of non-STEM professionals in our current workforce, so is yours. In the next five years, while all jobs are expected to grow by 10.4%, STEM jobs are expected to increase by 21.4%.

HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS: for those individuals with the STEM skills required, and for those organizations for which the commitment to, and the embracing of the entire STEM concept is intuitive, the rewards will be great. The stakes are incredibly high, but the opportunity is limitless.

65% of those with Bachelors’ degrees in STEM fields earn more than Master’s degrees in non-STEM occupations. 47% of Bachelor’s degrees in STEM occupations earn more than PhDs in non-STEM occupations.  (Georgetown University STEM Report)

But here’s the bad news: If we do not correct the supply and demand equilibrium here, we are facing a shift of seismic proportions. The gap between those coming out of college and the jobs they will be required to fill is still growing, and compounded by further, potentially acute shortages in the increasing number of STEM jobs, this shortage threatens our ability to maintain a global competitive advantage.

The U.S. will have over 1 million job openings in STEM-related fields by 2018; yet only 16% of U.S. bachelor’s degrees will specialize in STEM. (U.S. Bureau of Statistics)

80% of new jobs now require a STEM-based education.  And 50% of those employed today in technical positions are soon to retire baby boomers.

The conclusion is that, now more than ever, we must inspire today’s students to pursue careers in the STEM fields. As a staffing partner to the progressive businesses of the future, this issue is very close to our hearts.

Nowhere is the juxtaposition between a key part of PROVEN’s Vision, several of its core values and the entire concept of ELEVATED better illustrated than in PROVEN’s continuing support and sponsorship of San Diego Jewish Academy’s annual STEM Brunch. Hosted by Biotech entrepreneur, Eugene Chen, who is the General and Founding Partner of Medenovo LLC and CWC HealthTech LLC, 2 investment firms focused on medical devices, this year’s event was one to remember.

The San Diego Jewish Academy STEM program was started 4 years ago by Dr. Jane Willoughby, a former Senior Executive within the Biotech industry.  The program is designed to inspire young scientists and motivate developing future science professionals. In that short period of time and with significantly less students than other schools in the area, SDJA students have won numerous local, national and international awards including at Intel and Google.

2 weeks ago, one student, Jonah Kohn, met with President Obama as he was recognized for his achievement.

Jonah’s project involved developing a tactile device that is worn that vibrates at frequencies that mirrors music. In hearing impaired individuals they enjoyed music for the first time in decades!

Other award winning projects have included:

• The study of “red tide” like the fluorescent one a few years ago where the student was able to show how climate change would affect it in the next 100 years.
• The discovery of biological markers of prostate cancer that correlated with outcome. With these markers patients who do not show aggressive markers will no longer have to endure prostatectomy.
• The study of addiction in a tiny worm that is used as a model for humans as it has the same neurochemicals. The student was able to show that when worms are temporally starved they are more likely to choose alcohol over food. This has major implications in alcohol addiction rehabilitation in that addicts must make sure that their rehab addresses healthy eating or thy are more at risk of a relapse.

PROVEN is proud to be part of a community that inspires young people to pursue studies and careers in such innovative and dynamic fields.

Resources:

United States Department of Commerce Economics & Statistics Administration: http://www.esa.doc.gov/Blog/2012/02/06/state-our-union%E2%80%99s-21st-century-workforce

US News, ‘STEM Solutions’ http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions

Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, STEM (report) http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/stem-complete.pdf

Author

Author: Ingram Losner
Co-Founder, CFO, PROVEN Inc.

Ingram is co-founder and CFO of PROVEN and his staffing industry experience spans 25+ years and 2 continents. He ran his own recruiting business in London between 1988 and 1996, and prior to founding PROVEN Ingram was a Group President for one of the largest professional staffing companies in the world. Renowned for building great teams and developing some of the highest preforming associates in the business, his teams won 6 major awards in 6 years for overall performance and customer service. Ingram graduated from London University with a degree in Economics and spent 4 years as an Accountant with a large UK firm of Chartered Accountants. Ingram is active in the community and is involved with several local charities and non-profit groups.Contact Ingram directly at 858.412.1133 or at ilosner@proveninc.com