STEM Talent Shortfall Frustrates Tech Recruiters

But Jemison acknowledged that the notion of a STEM shortage, as a starting point, is not without controversy. “Is it a myth or is it for real? And there’s a lot of commentary on both sides,” she said.

Indeed, critics of expanding the H-1B cap have argued that such a move would simply give businesses a license to hire more low-wage foreign workers at the expense of their American counterparts.

But the authors of the report focused their attention on the education side of the issue, arguing that post-secondary institutions aren’t keeping up with the hiring demands of the private sector. In particular, that shortfall is seen in candidates with degrees from two-year or four-year institutions, what Jemison described as the engine of the STEM workforce. Eighty-nine percent of the respondents said that competition for graduates from four-year STEM programs for positions in those fields is “fierce.”

“While much of the debate today centers on the country’s pool of STEM PhDs., this survey focuses on the lion’s share of our STEM workforce — those with four-year STEM degrees or less,” said Bayer MaterialScience President Jerry MacCleary. “For this particular debate, we believe the jury is no longer out. As professionals responsible for scouting and hiring talent, the recruiters’ firsthand knowledge is an excellent barometer of the STEM workforce realities that companies in a range of industries are facing today.”

Just 55 percent of recruiters polled said that they can typically fill a position with a STEM-educated candidate with a two-year degree in a timely manner, while an even half of respondents said the same about candidates with a degree from a four-year program.

But the demand for graduates with STEM degrees isn’t just confined to technical positions. After all, more than half of the recruiting managers polled work for companies outside the STEM fields. And of the total group of respondents, a substantial majority said that STEM graduates are more desirable for non-STEM positions than job seekers with nontechnical degrees.

“People who have STEM degrees are being sought after … for jobs that traditionally have not been considered STEM jobs,” Jemison said. “So that’s going to tighten up the STEM workforce.”

Kenneth Corbin is a Washington, D.C.-based writer who covers government and regulatory issues for CIO.com.

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