The jobs are there, the wages are attractive and strong growth indicates a bright future for STEM-qualified workers. So why isn’t the supply of talent keeping up?
Well, there are five key reasons, and unfortunately, they offer no easy fix. Instead, companies seeking this kind of talent will need to work much harder, and adapt much faster, to stay ahead of increasing supply and demand pressures.
1. Defection and attrition
Even in those areas where STEM graduate numbers are still strong, diversion of workers into other fields is significantly impacting supply of qualified STEM talent.
STEM students (including the highest performing) are diverting into other occupations partly due to their belief that other occupations will better satisfy their personal work interests and values. In fact, only one-third of workers with a STEM undergraduate degree work in a STEM job.
- Only about 40% of men with STEM college degrees work in STEM jobs.
- Only 26% of women with STEM degrees work in STEM jobs.
- Female STEM majors are twice as likely as men to work in education or healthcare.
2. Women and minorities are underrepresented
- Almost three out of four STEM jobs (72%) are held by non-Hispanic Whites.
- Women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy but they hold less than 25% of STEM jobs.-
- Only half as many non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic workers have STEM jobs relative to their overall representation in the U.S. workforce. Non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics each account for 6% of all STEM workers, but 11% and 14%, respectively, of overall employment.
- In contrast, the STEM picture is reversed for non-Hispanic Asians who make up 14% of all STEM workers but only 5% of the U.S. workforce.
More women and minorities are entering the workforce, yet these growing worker populations remain underrepresented in STEM fields.
3. Student interest is low
- Only 17.3% of students who are proficient in mathematics are interested in studying and entering a STEM field.
- In the 2008/2009 academic year, there were more than two times the number of Bachelor degrees earned in Visual and Performing Arts compared to Computer and Information Sciences, despite the comparable availability of jobs.
- Compared to 2000, the number of Bachelor degrees in Business has grown 32%, the number of engineering degrees earned has grown 19%, and there has been a negative growth rate of -14% in Computer and Information Sciences degrees earned.
4. An aging workforce
While the aging population of the global workforce is a growing problem for all industries, for some STEM-based industries, this is compounded by a worker profile that is already older than the average.
- Less than one-quarter of the workforce (22.2%) is over 55 years of age. In the Life Sciences sector, this figure is closer to one- third (31.4%). More than one-quarter (25.4%) of Architectural/ Engineering workers is 55 years or older.
- More than 50% of all Civil, Mechanical and Industrial Engineers are over the age of 45.
5. Return migration
One in five U.S.-based STEM workers is foreign-born, of which 63% come from Asia. Significant economic growth in developing countries, particularly throughout Asia, is beginning to offer attractive opportunities “back home.” Many developed nations have relied upon skilled migration to fill talent gaps in STEM industries. The relatively strong economic position of Asia now provides a genuine alternative to these workers, potentially reducing stay-rates of STEM workers in the U.S.
This post is part of How to Find (and Keep) STEM Talent. You can download this free ebook on the supply and demand pressures among STEM-qualified workers here.
