STEM Labor Supply Shortage

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Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics provide the innovative framework for a nation’s technological advancements. Commonly referred to as STEM, these sectors aid in the nation’s vitality and high standard of living. In 2005, three influential reports, released within a five-month period, Innovate America, Tapping America’s Potential, and Rising Above the Gathering Storm, argue that the US is declining in all aspects of STEM; however, some analysts disagree. This perceived weakness in STEM has sparked controversies over the US’s superiority and prosperity in a growing global economy. The reports expressed concern over the academic achievement gaps between genders and races, teacher quality, the current STEM labor supply in the US, …show more content…
Robert D. Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, and Merrilea Mayo, Founder of Mayo Enterprises, note that “There has been a steady growth in STEM workers/jobs, regardless of how the data are examined.” With a positive trend in the number of STEM graduates, the US is now experiencing a surplus in STEM fields. Lindsay B. Lowell, research professor of the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, and Hal Salzman, professor of Public Policy at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and Senior Faculty Fellow at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development report, “The pool of graduates with an S&E degree exceeds the number of S&E job openings each year, even though employers may not be as successful as they would like in attracting or retaining graduates into an S&E career.” These findings lead to the conclusion that if there were to be a shortage in the STEM labor supply, there would be a number of qualified scientists and engineers ready to take a position.
The push for STEM graduates and enhancement of STEM fields is unnecessary to reduce the labor shortage. Reports that state there is a shortage in the STEM labor supply always look towards international competitors. These companies and committees acknowledge the positive trend in STEM workers and jobs; however, they skew the perspective and show that there is an alarming scientific loss because of other nations’ scientific and technological gains. The idea of losing their superiority forces the US to bolster their perceived deficit in science and

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