Free Roundtable: Sourcing STEM Skills for America with Industry Talent Pipelines

Numerous national conversations over the past few years have been concerned with how best to find and prepare talent to provide US industry with skilled and capable workers.  A recurring theme in these discussions has been a somewhat generalized call for “partnerships” between industry—representing the “demand side” of the challenge—and educators—representing the “supply side.” However, exactly how such partnerships should work efficiently and remain effective has largely been undefined.

A new set of conversations is now aimed at evaluating if and how supply chain design and management practices could help create sustainable talent supply chains across multiple industries. The idea assumes, among other things, that there is a “talent development industry”.  And, viewed in this way, the application of a supply chain model to the talent development industry could help 1) to clarify the contributions of employers and educators; 2) increase awareness of underused qualified talent pools for high-demand jobs; and, 3) explain for all how to collaborate for a common cause while preserving the mission, market and mandate of participating organizations.

As intriguing a concept as it may be, actually implementing a talent development supply chain for a particular set of skills requires some understanding of supply chain fundamentals, “ground rules” for organizations playing a role in the supply chain, and an understanding of what counts for the “product” that the supply chain is producing. 

This session is designed to test this concept using STEM skills as its focus.  The proposed Summit session aims to engage participants in modeling a STEM talent pipeline. It starts from the demand side with a review of priority STEM skills; turns to discuss best practices in supply chain management; and closes by defining roles for organizations on the supply side. The intent is to equip participants with a working knowledge of supply chain management and guidelines for its use in educator-employer talent development initiatives. Supporting materials will be furnished at the outset to attendees.

This roundtable is part of the pre-conference programming for the Foundation's 2014 Corporate Citizenship Conference. This event is free to attend for those attending the conference as well as those who are not attending. Attend the STEM Roundtable. Attend the Corporate Citizenship Conference.

When: September 8, 2014

Where: 
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
1615 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20062