Facing a Skills Gap, STEM Companies Take the Lead in Building Future Workforce

The substantial deficiency of qualified science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and manufacturing workers in the U.S. has created a worrisome gap which will result in serious workforce and pipeline issues for companies in the technology, manufacturing and engineering spaces and beyond. STEM education remains a hot-button issue as the U.S. continues to fall behind its foreign peers when it comes to STEM job training and preparedness – especially in mathematics – and more and more companies are feeling compelled to do something about it.

STEM education advocacy, curriculum development and mentorship are becoming the go-to corporate responsibility focus of many companies that operate in the U.S. From promoting early access and hands-on learning to steering girls toward mentorship, here are a few companies making consistent, impactful efforts to bolster the country’s STEM literacy and future workforce:

• IBM co-developed P-TECH, a transformative six-year school model that opened in one of Brooklyn’s poorest neighborhoods in 2011. P-TECH’s first six students all graduated ahead of schedule with both high school and associates degrees (the latter in STEM fields) and job offers. There are now 60 P-TECH schools, each using IBM’s free-of-charge P-TECH playbook. The playbook is actually a web hub designed to help school districts, universities and businesses establish new P-TECH schools by replicating IBM’s education model.

To continue reading, please click here.