‘Your Future’ Narrows STEM Awareness Gap Between Students, Educators and Businesses
- Morgan Counts, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
While visiting Miron Construction, students study 3D modeling, read blueprints and estimate the amount of concrete needed for walls.
When people learn the term STEM, one letter jumps out at them – the connecting letter, the vowel. E is for engineers, and according to Patty Milka, the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce’s Competitive Workforce Alliance director, it is the only part of the STEM alphabet most think about.
For Milka, this poses a challenge when it comes to educating students on the importance of learning and developing skills related to careers in science, technology, engineering and math, or even making them aware of these careers at all.
When asking students going into high school where they will go once they graduate, “They only reach back in their minds to say, ‘What have I been exposed to? teachers do, I know what my parents do and I know what the teachers do, ’” Milka said. “If they’re not made aware of [more careers] as you drill down into middle school, they don’t know about them; it is an awareness gap.”
For more information, contact Patty Milka at the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce 920-734-7101 or [email protected] and visit https://foxcities.connectacareer.com
Closing the Gap
In 2012, the newly formed Competitive Workforce Alliance developed a program to increase awareness of STEM careers in the Fox Cities, Wis., area. The program, Your Future, is an online platform that connects STEM-related companies with educators and students.
“Most people believe that STEM is only engineers, but there are 16 national career clusters (groups of jobs and industries related by skills and products), and I believe STEM exists in all of them,” Milka said. “You might ask how that happens in human services. In human services, it’s a lot of social work and science of the mind and behavior; there’s the science.”
The chamber holds events, such as career fairs, with the objective of increasing the community’s understanding of STEM careers, but education leaders in the area noticed a lack of connection between employers and future employees.
“The Competitive Workforce Alliance came about when all the superintendents came to the chamber and said we needed to be more connected to business,” Milka said. “It’s a grassroots initiative that started from that conversation two years ago. Your Future came out of that.”
After final tests of Your Future in spring 2013, the program launched in fall 2013 and primary data from spring 2014 show that the website has impacted nearly 3,000 students so far.
Through the website, local businesses share who they are and what jobs are in demand within their industry. The number of participating businesses grew from 75 to 165 in six months. Educators can connect with businesses to bring guest speakers into the classrooms, as well as plan tours and job shadows for students within the industries, according to Milka.
Finally, students in five school districts in Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Kimberly and Little Chute, including seven high schools and 17 middle schools, can create Your Future accounts and learn about the local labor market. They learn about the businesses and types of jobs that exist in the Fox Cities.
In 2012, the newly formed Competitive Workforce Alliance developed a program to increase awareness of STEM careers in the Fox Cities, Wis., area. The program, Your Future, is an online platform that connects STEM-related companies with educators and students.
“Most people believe that STEM is only engineers, but there are 16 national career clusters (groups of jobs and industries related by skills and products), and I believe STEM exists in all of them,” Milka said. “You might ask how that happens in human services. In human services, it’s a lot of social work and science of the mind and behavior; there’s the science.”
The chamber holds events, such as career fairs, with the objective of increasing the community’s understanding of STEM careers, but education leaders in the area noticed a lack of connection between employers and future employees.
“The Competitive Workforce Alliance came about when all the superintendents came to the chamber and said we needed to be more connected to business,” Milka said. “It’s a grassroots initiative that started from that conversation two years ago. Your Future came out of that.”
After final tests of Your Future in spring 2013, the program launched in fall 2013 and primary data from spring 2014 show that the website has impacted nearly 3,000 students so far.
Through the website, local businesses share who they are and what jobs are in demand within their industry. The number of participating businesses grew from 75 to 165 in six months. Educators can connect with businesses to bring guest speakers into the classrooms, as well as plan tours and job shadows for students within the industries, according to Milka.
Finally, students in five school districts in Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Kimberly and Little Chute, including seven high schools and 17 middle schools, can create Your Future accounts and learn about the local labor market. They learn about the businesses and types of jobs that exist in the Fox Cities.
Students from the Fox Valley learn about the science behind construction and 3D modeling at Miron Construction.
The STEM Breakdown
Understanding the labor market means understanding that STEM skills are required in all kinds of industries, and within every level of each company. Miller Electric, a Your Future business partner, runs on the expertise of all levels, from skilled labor to the CEO.
“STEM is related in every one of those areas, from the skilled labor all the way up to upper management,” Milka said. “You still need the science, the technology [and] you still need the math in so many of those areas. Our goal has always been for our students to understand the importance of taking those higher level classes in math and science in order to achieve those goals.”
The 16 career clusters frames Your Future’s website to emphasize that STEM skills expand between all industries.
For example, a Miller Electric employer and Your Future member works in a manufacturing plant and also does business development. “He’s in three different career clusters and our students see that,” Milka said. “If they click on manufacturing, they would find this electrical engineer who also works in business development under business, manufacturing and STEM.
“We really cross all areas so our educators and our students truly understand the skills and knowledge needed to apply for any of these jobs.”
Preparing Students for Their Future
To help narrow the awareness gap between students and labor force needs, Your Future provides opportunities for job shadows, internships, youth apprenticeships and more. The goal, Milka said, is to have the students develop 21st-century skills like problem solving, communication and teamwork, and connect those skills with STEM lessons in the classroom.
“I think it’s terribly important for our students to understand the importance of the higher education that is needed for the future of jobs and the jobs that we can’t even talk about because they don’t exist today,” Milka said. “I just think that STEM [means] being prepared for those higher level skills that future jobs are going to require.”
Moving forward, the Competitive Workforce Alliance wants Your Future to impact more students and connect more businesses and educators. Milka said the long-term goal is to help young students develop career plans through a continuation of events and exposure to STEM-related opportunities.
“We feel that if we continue on this path, we will definitely be able to see the needle move in helping a student identify their own needs, interests and abilities,” Milka said, “and also to develop plans, make decisions and achieve the goals and aspirations they may have.”
Understanding the labor market means understanding that STEM skills are required in all kinds of industries, and within every level of each company. Miller Electric, a Your Future business partner, runs on the expertise of all levels, from skilled labor to the CEO.
“STEM is related in every one of those areas, from the skilled labor all the way up to upper management,” Milka said. “You still need the science, the technology [and] you still need the math in so many of those areas. Our goal has always been for our students to understand the importance of taking those higher level classes in math and science in order to achieve those goals.”
The 16 career clusters frames Your Future’s website to emphasize that STEM skills expand between all industries.
For example, a Miller Electric employer and Your Future member works in a manufacturing plant and also does business development. “He’s in three different career clusters and our students see that,” Milka said. “If they click on manufacturing, they would find this electrical engineer who also works in business development under business, manufacturing and STEM.
“We really cross all areas so our educators and our students truly understand the skills and knowledge needed to apply for any of these jobs.”
Preparing Students for Their Future
To help narrow the awareness gap between students and labor force needs, Your Future provides opportunities for job shadows, internships, youth apprenticeships and more. The goal, Milka said, is to have the students develop 21st-century skills like problem solving, communication and teamwork, and connect those skills with STEM lessons in the classroom.
“I think it’s terribly important for our students to understand the importance of the higher education that is needed for the future of jobs and the jobs that we can’t even talk about because they don’t exist today,” Milka said. “I just think that STEM [means] being prepared for those higher level skills that future jobs are going to require.”
Moving forward, the Competitive Workforce Alliance wants Your Future to impact more students and connect more businesses and educators. Milka said the long-term goal is to help young students develop career plans through a continuation of events and exposure to STEM-related opportunities.
“We feel that if we continue on this path, we will definitely be able to see the needle move in helping a student identify their own needs, interests and abilities,” Milka said, “and also to develop plans, make decisions and achieve the goals and aspirations they may have.”
Morgan Counts is a senior at UW Oshkosh majoring in journalism and economics. She has published work in University and state-wide publications, including Women Magazine, fyi! Family, the Advance-Titan, Endeavors and War: Through Their Eyes. She can be contacted at . The development of this project showcase was funded by the University of Wisconsin System Administration PK-16 Initiatives”