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The Missing Link: What Roles Does STEM Education Play in Creating Jobs and Invigorating the Economy?
By Ron Bennett
Surfing the web, reading the paper and watching the news, we see and hear a lot of interest in STEM education in the K-16 school system. There is even more interest in the economy and creating jobs. But we don’t often hear discussions of the connection between the two. They are inextricably linked, and it’s time we examined how.
Surveys of manufacturers over the past two years in Minnesota have identified several key concerns. They consistently lament that the skill level of employees is not where it needs to be to be competitive in the global economy. The areas of concern most frequently mentioned include analytical/critical thinking, problem solving, innovation & creativity, statistical process control, finance, automation. How do these skills relate to STEM?
STEM is the collective acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is usually thought of as curriculum oriented learning in K-12 and post secondary education. It is not often connected to incumbent worker learning. It should be. Of the workers who will be employed in 2020, about 67% are in the workforce today. These individuals need skill enhancement as much as the new workers entering the workforce. So how does STEM fit in?
Science is the process of discovery, of using the scientific method of logical analysis and critical thinking to solve problems. The scientific method is most often thought of as applied to specific subject areas like physics and biology, but in the broader sense it is the process of critical thinking applied to all topics that is universally useful.
Engineering is the process of creativity that leads to innovation. It uses science as a basis and applies these scientific principles to real problems and opportunities to create new and innovative solutions.
Technology is tools. Technology is the product of engineering. Today we often think of technology as related to computers, but in fact technology is any tool that extends the capability of humans to accomplish work. A shoe horn is technology, as is a hammer. It is the process of applying innovative thinking using fundamental scientific principles that creates technologies.
Mathematics is the language of science, engineering and technology. It is also the language of finance, economics and sports. How would you plan your household budget if you didn’t consider income and expenditures numerically? How would you improve a manufacturing process if you didn’t understand statistical process control? How interesting would it be to watch a baseball game if no score were kept, or you didn’t know the batting average of a player?
Industry is calling for improved skills in workers to meet the global competitive challenge. The skills needed to create the competitive workforce of the future – critical thinking, creativity, innovation, understanding finance and automation, the ability to interpret written documents and turn them into products – are the same skills learning through STEM education.
And that’s why a strong STEM is needed for a blossoming economy.
The Noble Cause of Manufacturing
Once only royalty enjoyed extraordinary conveniences, today the extraordinary is the ordinary thanks to manufacturing.
By Ronald Bennett, Executive Director, Minnesota Center for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence
Imagine you are King in the 16th Century. You live in a cold, stone palace with no central air or heat. There’s no running water or indoor plumbing. With no radio, television or newspapers to keep you informed, the world seems small and isolated.
Fast forward to the 21st Century. We have comfortable, climate controlled homes. We turn a faucet and water comes out. The world’s events are literally at our fingertips 24 hours a day. Thanks to technological advances, many of us now live better than the royalty of the past, even on modest incomes. The industry that makes this possible? Manufacturing.
Manufacturing is the life sustaining force that touches every single thing around you—from the furnace in your home to your laptop computer to the pacemaker that may someday save your life. Manufacturers are central in creating a better, more convenient, cleaner and healthier life; but few of us focus on the positives, and that’s a mistake.
To reach and recruit the next generation of would-be manufacturers, it is imperative that we—the old guard—talk about the benefits of a job in manufacturing, rather than just its features. When reaching out to young people, talk about manufacturing’s role in the stewardship of our planet through recycling and eco-friendly practices. Talk about it helps people in need through bio-manufacturing and work in the health industry. Play up the myriad products that make people’s lives better and create a safer world.
To talk the talk, of course, we must walk the walk. Jump on the green bandwagon by using lean and sustainable practices to conserve nature’s precious resources. Open your minds—and the doors of your shop—to new technology, energy and water conservation, affordable health care and other modern elements. Not only will you attract the best and brightest of today’s generation, you’ll be involved in work that is rewarding. And, you may even boost that bottom line.
If you are still skeptical about your role in creating a better world, here’s some food for thought: You may just stamp hinges in your factory, but somewhere down the supply chain, you’re contributing to an energy-efficient freezer. You may just solder circuits, but the pacemaker you helped create saves lives. You get the idea.
What does your manufacturing operation do to benefit mankind? If you can make that clear, you stand a good chance of attracting the talent you’ll need this century to have a sustainable business, maximize Minnesota’s competitiveness and maybe even change the world.
Manufacturing Competitiveness
A manufacturing organization creates value for its stakeholders by increasing revenues and reducing costs. That’s the shortest, simplest description. On the revenue side, companies build relationships with customers and develop imaginative products, leading to delighted customers, repeat business and revenue growth. On the cost side, companies refine processes, improve quality, shorten cycle times, reduce waste and take non-value added steps out of their processes. This is a more detailed explanation, but still simplified.
Before you look further into this idea, however, remember that companies don’t make these things happen. Employees do—passionate, committed employees who are motivated and allowed to be creative, take initiative, make decisions and, yes, mistakes. They create innovative products, build relationships and refine processes. They need three things to succeed: a culture of innovation, created by an enlightened management; the tools (education) to know what new things to try; and the authority to make mistakes on the way to successful transformations.
When you’re exploring new territory, there is no map, so wrong turns are almost inevitable. This is risky, but no more so than if you stick with the same old practices that will only lead to the same old results. Chances are, those same old results will not be enough to keep manufacturing competitive into the coming century, or even the coming decade.
This means the greatest burden is on the leaders of our manufacturing organizations. It will require some changes, sometimes major ones, in the way the leaders act and even think. But others have made the journey, and lots of support is available. The only real requirement is passion—the will to make each manufacturing organization as innovative and competitive as possible. The alternative is ultimately unsustainable.
