News Herald – Juliann Talkington
Close to half of the recent U.S. college graduates are underemployed.
According to a Rutgers University study a similar percentage was underemployed in 2011. A Federal Reserve Bank of New York report released in early 2014 confirmed the trend – about 44 percent of recent graduates were in jobs that did not require a bachelor’s degree.
During this period employers have been complaining and continue to grouse that they cannot find workers. The problem they say is not a lack of jobs, but a lack of people with the skills necessary for the jobs.
Employers need workers who can operate in the fast paced, technical, global environment. They want people with outstanding math skills, exceptional science talents, outstanding communication abilities, and a strong cultural awareness (a second or third language is a plus) that can come up with creative solutions to problems.
Employers know it is impossible for someone to become proficient in math quickly, so a large percentage of the graduates are immediately eliminated from consideration because they do not have strong math skills.
Colleges and universities recognize the problem, but find it impossible to get many enrollees to the math and science levels employers demand. This means students must enter college better prepared.
There have been a variety of K-12 initiatives to close the gap. First there was the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) initiative. Although there was a great deal of discussion about the benefits of STEM, it has done little to change education at the primary and secondary levels. In fact, proficiency in math and science has declined since the time the initiative began in the 1970s.
Now there is a new movement called S.T.E.A.M (STEAM). This movement includes STEM plus art. The problem is employers aren’t looking for artists, but want scientists and engineers who can create beautiful, functional, innovative things – renaissance scientists, computer programmers, and mathematicians.
This means everyone needs a strong math and science foundation with additional training to solve problems in creative ways. This type of creativity and innovation requires blending the social sciences and arts with math and science.
Moving in this direction is imperative if we want to assure our college graduates can find meaningful work, but it would require a radical overhaul of the U.S. education system. As a first step, it might be a good idea to change the acronym to STECM or STEIM since what we really need is creative/innovative scientists, engineers, and mathematicians.