Training U.S. Workers for the Next Generation of Technology
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Training U.S. Workers for the Next Generation of Technology The United States’s technological prowess demonstrates great ingenuity and inventiveness. That is a major reason why, despite our recent slowdown and the aftershocks of the September 11th attacks, we still have a strong and vibrant economy. But our long-term competitive standing and economic security could well be at risk if we do not address a troubling trend in our workforce—the mismatch between the demand and supply of workers with science and engineering training. Recent studies show that the number of jobs requiring significant technical skills is projected to grow by more than 50% in the United States over the next decade. But outside of the life sciences, the number of degrees awarded in science and engineering has been flat or declining. The declining number of degrees has helped fuel a well-chronicled shortage of qualified New Economy workers. We have tried to temporarily plug this humancapital hole with a stopgap of non-U.S. workers. But there is a broad consensus among high-tech leaders and policymakers that it would be a serious mistake to prolong this dependence. We now know that technological innovation is the major driver of economic growth, not to mention a critical factor in our military superiority. And it is widely understood that we cannot expand our economy in the future if we do not take steps now to expand our domestic pool of brainpower—the next generation of people who will incubate and implement the next generation of ideas. Now, most answers to serious economic challenges flow from the private sector, which is where growth ultimately occurs. But there are ways that the federal government can help, particularly in the area of
educating and training our workforce. The federal government can provide leadership, focus, and not least of all resources— and that is the purpose of the Technology Talent Act of 2001.
Recent studies show that the number of jobs requiring significant technical skills is projected to grow by more than 50% . . . This legislation—which I recently introduced with Senators Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; Christopher Bond, R-Mo.; Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; and Pete Domenici, R-N.M.— aims to fix a critical link in this “tech talent” gap: undergraduate education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. This bill (S. 1549) would create a new competitive grant program within the National Science Foundation that would encourage institutions of higher learning— from universities to community colleges— to increase the number of graduates in these disciplines. This is not another scholarship program, but a targeted, results-driven initiative aimed at those in a position to effect significant change, namely, institutions of higher education. The bill asks them to formulate effective ideas for reversing the decline in the number of graduates, and we will provide the dollars to implement those ideas. For example, institutions could propose to add or strengthen the interdisciplinary components of undergraduate science educa
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