Inaugural study gauges views of
stakeholders across the state
MURFREESBORO — An
inaugural assessment by MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center concludes
that moving Tennessee’s STEM employment concentration to the national level
would create an economic impact of nearly $4.5 billion and create an additional
16,000 new jobs in the economy.
Under a
partnership with the Mind2Marketplace organization and the MTSU Tennessee Small
Business Development Lead Center, BERC conducted a survey to assess the most
pressing challenges and opportunities in STEM fields across Tennessee. STEM is
the acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
A survey
of businesses, mayors, local economic development officials, and school
principals suggests that Tennessee faces significant challenges in the STEM
workforce supply, pipeline and infrastructure, the report states.
A long
and short version of the full report as well as a two-page summary are
available at http://www.mtsu.edu/berc/research.php.
“The
critical takeaway from this study is that Tennessee has significant
opportunities to grow by creating synergies among business communities, higher
education institutions and the policy makers on STEM workforce issues,” said
BERC Director Murat Arik. “As a research center, we will continue building on
this inaugural study by tracking Tennessee’s STEM dynamics annually.”
Among
BERC’s key findings is that Tennessee faces an employment and skills gap in
STEM areas. As of 2013, the size of the STEM workforce in Tennessee was an
estimated 324,328, but the report characterized that workforce as “an
oversupply of a low-skilled STEM workforce relative to the U.S. average.” An
additional 16,000 jobs could be created by upgrading the STEM skill set of the
current workforce.
The
report states that 11.8 percent of Tennessee’s jobs are STEM-related, compared
to 13.1 percent for the entire country and 15.9 percent for the state of
Massachusetts. And while Tennessee can produce roughly 11,000 STEM-degreed
workers each year on average, the demand for such workers will be roughly
19,000.
Among
the challenges in developing an adequate STEM workforce is a “perceived lack of
rigor in Tennessee’s K12 education system,” as well as a lack of knowledge
about programs, lack of interest and ability, and a lack of emphasis on the
necessity of difficult subjects in the educational system, the report states.
To catch
up with the rest of the U.S. in the relative share of the STEM workforce,
36,000 new STEM jobs are needed in Tennessee, the report states, adding that
creating these new jobs and addressing skills issues would generate an economic
impact of nearly $4.5 billion.
The
stakeholders recommend that the government assist in boosting Tennessee’s STEM
concentration by connecting educational institutions with workforce needs and
aligning and coordinating STEM resources across the state.
The
Tennessee Small Business Development Center will continue to provide funding
support to BERC to update the benchmark STEM workforce study. The data each
year will be used for comparative analysis on the state’s progress in
increasing its STEM skilled workforce.
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