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WIRED Initiative

The importance of STEM

“Highly skilled workers, trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, are the ones who generate breakthrough innovations that lead to productivity gains, economic growth and higher standards of living. America enjoys a high standard of living, but we are falling behind in producing the technical talent we will need to sustain our economic leadership in the world.”
— Joseph M. Tucci
Chairman, President and CEO
EMC Corporation

STEM education plays a critical role in enabling the U.S. to remain the economic and technological leader of the global marketplace in the 21st century. Our nation must improve the way students and existing workers learn science, technology engineering, and math. Industry, education, government, workforce, and STEM organizations must work together to achieve this goal.

  • By 2010, if current trends continue, more than 90 percent of all scientists and engineers in the world will be living in Asia.
  • More than 50 percent of all engineering doctoral degrees awarded by U.S. engineering colleges are to foreign nationals.
  • During the next decade, U.S. demand for scientists and engineers is expected to increase at four times the rate for all other occupations.

STEM in Metro Denver

STEM skills are critical nationwide, but even more so in Metro Denver. The region’s fast-growing industries with labor shortages and high-wage jobs – aerospace, bioscience, energy, and information technology-software, almost always require some amount of these skills.

One of WIRED’s goals is to ensure that proper STEM education and training is available for both students currently in school as well as individuals already in the workplace. With this in mind we have provided funding to many organizations that teach or train individuals the STEM skills needed in order to ascertain the high-wage jobs in the region’s fast-growing industries. WIRED also partners with organizations that teach and promote the benefits of STEM-related skills and knowledge.

Regional STEM Organizations

COMSTEC
STEM-EC

Soft Skills

In addition to STEM, today’s workers must also have “soft skills.” Soft skills include teamwork, integrity, professionalism, and initiative. While many employers screen for “hard skills” like STEM, soft skills are often what separate one candidate from the next.