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Microsoft Pushes STEM Acceleration Funded by Immigration Revamp
In a wide-ranging push for policy change, Microsoft has taken up the call to increase the number of STEM graduates in the United States over the long haul while also calling for H-1B visa reform to fill a perceived gap of science, technology, engineering, and math talent in the short-term. Last week the global technology company held a forum at the Brookings Institute to coincide with the release of "A National Talent Strategy," a new paper that lays out the challenges of "a substantial and increasing shortage of individuals with the skills needed to fill the new jobs the private sector is creating."
The forum was held days after the company announced it was plowing its major foundation contributions into opportunities for young people, in an initiative called YouthSpark.
Microsoft reported that it currently has 6,000 open jobs in the United States, of which 3,400 are for researchers, developers, and engineers. That total has grown by a third over the last year. In the overall economy, the company said, unemployment in computer-related occupations has fallen to 3.4 percent compared to 8.1 percent overall, and that has created a dearth of qualified workers in the computer science fields. The company reported that the shortage of skilled people will only increase, pointing to an estimate from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: 120,000 additional computing jobs requiring at least a bachelor's degree were expected to open up between 2010 and 2010.
A Push for Computer Science Earlier
One area where Microsoft said great improvement needs to be undertaken is in education. Whereas China graduates 31 percent of its bachelor-equivalent degrees in engineer, the company reported, the United States awards only about 4 percent in that discipline. That gap begins in high school, where "only 45 percent of U.S. high school graduates were prepared for college-level math, and only 30 percent were prepared for college-level science," the report's authors stated. "The problem is especially acute for girls, low-income students, and minorities."
Calling for a "Race to the Future," a nod to the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top and Race to the Top District competitions, Microsoft said the country needs to be more aggressive in recruiting K-12 STEM teachers and investing in training resources for them. Microsoft put forward several ideas for achieving progress, including:
- STEM-themed schools;
- Externships for teachers to work alongside industry professionals;
- Advanced learning opportunities such as Advanced Placement and dual-enrollment programs for college credit;
- Internships and mentorships for students; and
- After-school STEM enrichment programs.
To address the shortage of teachers competent to teach technology courses, Microsoft recommended that states expand their teacher certification programs to encompass computer science as areas of specialization and provide flexible routes for current teachers trained in other subjects to make the transition.
The company has expanded a grass-roots effort started in 2009-2010 by putting its own engineers into schools to teach computer science classes through a program called Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS). Currently, the program has surfaced in 22 schools in the Seattle area as well as other schools in Washington and seven other states, encompassing 2,000 students. The Seattle schools have paired the engineers with regular teachers in order to help with classroom management and to educate the professional teachers on the curriculum and help them learn how to run their own computer science classes. Classes tend to be held early in the day to enable the engineers to get to their regular jobs for Microsoft.
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