Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem (2016) / Chapter Skim
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4 Lessons Learned and Analysis
4 Lessons Learned and Analysis
Pages 35-60
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From page 35... ...
This chapter first outlines the major workforce requirements -- including skills and better connectivity between educators and employers -- as articulated by employers present at the five regional events. Second, it summarizes the barriers that participants described as standing in the way of both a strong STEM economy and effective and sustained workforce development partnerships.
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From page 36... ...
Beyond the need for this initial point of contact, a number of workshop partici 2 For the purposes of this report, the committee will use the term employability skills to capture the range of nontechnical skills needed to be successful in the 21st century workplace. 3 These observations are consistent with a number of prior efforts that have assessed STEM workforce development partnerships.
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From page 37... ...
In the classroom, there is a need for the use of project-based learning modules drawn from real-world challenges, as emphasized, for example, by Paul Johnson, dean of the School of Engineering at Arizona State University and widely cited as a critical component of effective partnerships by participants during small-group breakout sessions in every regional meeting. A number of participants in all five regional meetings, including Bud Baeslack, provost of Case Western Reserve University, and Harvey Link, vice president of academic and student affairs at North Dakota State College of Science, spoke of the need for greater opportunity for student internships and apprenticeships throughout the STEM-related workforce.
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From page 38... ...
See Box 4-1 for a list of selected skills being sought by employers in Phoenix, Cleveland, Montgomery, and Fargo. a BOX 4-1 Selected Technical Skills In Demand by Regional Employers Phoenix, AZ Cleveland, OH Montgomery, AL Fargo, ND Job • Patient care • Patient care • Patient care • Patient care Function • Patient • Treatment • Treatment • Software evaluation planning planning engineering • Care planning • Accounting • Technical support • Manufacturing • Business process • Business process • System engineering • Software • Manufacturing administration • Technical support engineering process • Technical writing • Data analysis • Software • Product and editing • Technical support development development • Data analysis • Data analysis • Technical support • Data • Technical support management • Business process • Process engineering • Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning • Manufacturing engineering Discipline • Electrical • Chemistry • Mathematics • Civil engineering engineering • Mathematics • Electrical • Electrical • Software • Mechanical engineering engineering engineering engineering • Mechanical • Electrical engineering engineering • Mathematics • Chemistry • Agronomy Computer • UNIXb • AutoCADb • UNIXb • AutoCADb Skills • SQLb • Javab • Javab • SQLb • Javab • SQLb • Javab • Linuxb • Oracleb a The skills listed here (some of which are job functions or employment areas)
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From page 39... ...
In the words of Rosalyn Boxer, vice president for workforce at the Arizona Commerce Authority, students "don't understand when they come to work what the responsibilities are of being an employee and what the philosophy is of industry that they are going into. They have a very good understanding of the technical aspects of it, but they don't have the pragmatic side: budgets, time constraints, and how to interact with other departments, other businesses, and suppliers." Stacey Breuer, director of human resources at Doosan Bobcat in North Dakota, noted that it is not enough for a product to be engineered beautifully, but it must also be satisfying for a customer to interact with and be cost-effective for the company to produce.
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From page 40... ...
Jim Searcy, executive director of the Economic Development Association of Alabama, discussed the importance of employees' abilities to work together and to take abstract issues and apply their education to solve problems. In many STEM courses, students become accustomed to pursuing a right answer, whereas in the
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From page 41... ...
In Cleveland, Bud Baeslack, provost and executive vice president of Case Western Reserve University, described the need more generally to train engineering students to work with people in different disciplines, from students majoring in various scientific disciplines to business majors. BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND HIGHER EDUCATION Participants at each workshop were encouraged to identify barriers to a strong STEM workforce overall as well as barriers that hinder the development of effective, sustainable workforce development partnerships.
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From page 42... ...
Barriers to a Strong Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem Participants in all five regional meetings spoke of the lack of signaling between higher education and regional employers as a major structural barrier hindering the development of regional STEM-related workforces. Faculty, staff, and administrators in higher education lack effective channels by which to understand the needs of regional employers, and in some instances, employers make unrealistic demands of their new hires.
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From page 43... ...
Bob Pawloski, the STEM field coordinator at the University of North Dakota, spoke about K-12 teachers who need to improve or refine their skills in STEM subjects, noting that two-thirds of high-school math students and one-third of students in physical science have teachers who did not major in college in the subject they are certified to teach. 17 Participants in a breakout session in Montgomery described the need for more local initiatives to train teachers in STEM and in the scientific method, and a participant in Phoenix called for education that will make K-12 teachers "STEM savvy." Participants in Montgomery and Cleveland expressed the view that, given the high numbers of high school graduates needing remedial instruction once they reach higher education, the K-12 educational system needs to be reassessed, particularly STEM subjects.
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From page 44... ...
For more specific information on these practices, please see Appendix D Barriers to Effective Partnerships between Higher Education and Regional Employers Initiating, developing, and sustaining partnerships between industry and higher education can be particularly difficult, given different missions, levels of resources, lack of common terminology, and other factors, even if both partners share a commitment to a stronger workforce.
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From page 45... ...
This discrepancy creates a real obstacle for higher education institutions endeavoring to be responsive to local and regional STEM workforce needs. Participants in a breakout session in Fargo noted how the education sector has difficulty responding and adapting as quickly as industry needs it to in order to meet workforce demands.
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From page 46... ...
A major theme emerging from the five regional meetings was the need for both higher education and employers to recognize that they are constituent members of a regional STEM workforce development ecosystem. The committee heard participants explain 22 The challenges associated with IP management in the context of university-industry partnerships have been well characterized, and several prior reports have called on universities to improve their management of IP.
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From page 47... ...
23 A second step in strengthening a regional STEM workforce development ecosystem might be a joint discussion among sectors about how technology and innovation are drivers for change and growth. These first two steps can lead to the third: an exploration of how leaders in higher education, government, and business can collaborate to develop the human resources needed for the regional economy to grow.
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From page 48... ...
Consciousness is growing that future workforce development is not the responsibility of human resources departments but rather a fundamental element of business strategy and operations which must be addressed and driven in the "C-suite." Institutions of higher education need to be aware that while several entities within any large company have some role to play in these endeavors, it is critical to ascertain from the CEO who in the organization has cognizance of and the authority to make decisions on and provide funding for long-term workforce develop ment as a matter of corporate business strategy. 25 Business-Higher Education Forum (2013)
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From page 49... ...
These organizations include economic development authorities, workforce development organizations, and nonprofit entities dedicated to strengthening the workforce and the ability of higher education to produce strong graduates. Consistent with prior studies examining regional STEM workforce needs, 28, 29 workshop participants affirmed the critical importance of third-party intermediary organizations in facilitating regional workforce development ecosystems.
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From page 50... ...
See Box 4-5 for an additional example of the key role intermediary organizations play in organizing and focusing regional STEM workforce development efforts. Industry consortia.
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From page 51... ...
It bolsters industry confidence in the skills of their prospective employees and provides students with ac cess to information about the energy industry, mentorship, and clear career pathways within their chosen program. Specific Strategies for Building a Strong STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem Participants in the five regional meetings offered a wealth of promising strategies that form a part of -- or can lead to the formation of -- structured, effective regional partnerships between industry and higher education.
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From page 52... ...
For instance, AIA and NDIA have worked in tandem with the Business-Higher Education Forum to advance regional workforce projects at the postsecondary level; with the Manufacturing Institute and other asso ciations on the skills gap challenge; and with Battelle and STEMx to foster and grow state STEM networks in K-12 education. AIA and NDIA's experience has consistently demonstrated the power and value of bringing together all motivated stakeholders to scope the regional STEM education and workforce chal lenge, identify key next steps, and take responsibility for and commit to action.
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From page 53... ...
the importance of an organization having one staff person dedicated to cross-sector partnerships and immediately replacing that person if he or she moves out of that role. The committee heard this message in discussion groups in Phoenix, from Francisco Rodriguez, chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District, and from Terri Sandu, executive director of workforce development and director of the Entrepreneurship Innovation Institute at the Lorain County Community College in Cleveland.
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From page 54... ...
Many academic schools and departments already have industry advisory boards, and these can play an important role in the regional STEM workforce development ecosystem if they are structured appropriately. The committee heard repeatedly that advisory boards usually need to be restructured if they are to function effectively as a collaborative space for the development and maintenance of partnerships (see Box 4-9)
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From page 55... ...
Industry can organize site visits designed to increase faculty and administrators' knowledge of regional companies: Beth Ingram, provost of North Dakota State University, described the value of organized faculty visits to industry as a way to help faculty learn about what a company does, who it hires, and how industrial processes work. Companies can offer faculty fellowships or design exchange programs, giving faculty the opportunity to spend a more extended time in the workforce, gaining skills or undertaking collaborative research.
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From page 56... ...
Consistent with prior research and efforts to understand the dynamics of regional STEM workforce development ecosystems, 38, 39 meeting participants discussed course redesign as a way to increase student learning and the numbers of students in STEM courses. The design of courses -- especially first-year, or "gateway," courses -- has a profound effect on student learning and engagement as well as the likelihood that they will continue in the field of study.
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From page 57... ...
Consistent with research that has demonstrated that applied learning experiences and internships decrease attrition rates among STEM students, 42, 43, 44 and conclusions from prior efforts to understand the factors that strengthen STEM workforce development, 45, 46 a number of participants at the regional workshops emphasized the value of applied and experiential learning beginning early in a student's course of study and continuing throughout. In addition to allowing employers to assess whether a given individual is a good match for the company's culture and mission, internships and cooperative education programs constitute a valuable communication channel between faculty and industry, contributing to effective feed 42 Business-Higher Education Forum (2013)
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From page 58... ...
In National Research Council (2012) , Community Colleges in the Evolving STEM Education Landscape: Summary of a Summit.
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From page 59... ...
State and Local Policies to Support Workforce Development Partnerships Efforts by institutions of higher education and regional employers take place in a policy environment that can support or hinder the two sectors' efforts to strengthen the regional workforce. Governments can play an important role through policies that prioritize STEM education and increase the ease with which institutions of higher education and K-12 education can meet students' needs and workforce needs.
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From page 60... ...
Research on these CTE dual-enrollment programs has demonstrated a positive correlation between dual enrollment and greater college persistence. 51 At the time of the regional meeting in Los Angeles, a bill was going through the California assembly -- Concurrent Dual Enrollment Assembly Bill 288 -- that would allow high school students to enroll in community college classes free of charge, and this law was passed in October 2015.
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