(March 23, 2015) - STEM Premier and Project Lead The Way (PLTW) announced a significant partnership Monday that will cultivate the future generation of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students while increasing opportunity for those students by strengthening connections between higher educational institutions and careers.
“America’s economic prosperity depends on building a talented workforce of problem solvers, critical thinkers and collaborators, skills taught through STEM education,” said Vince Bertram, PLTW president and CEO. “Project Lead The Way is proud to partner with STEM Premier to offer students, especially those currently under-represented in STEM, greater resources and more direct pathways to in-demand careers in high-growth industries.”
Expanding student access to STEM education is an issue of paramount importance in an increasingly global economy. Job growth in STEM fields promises to be great. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce STEM report, funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, projected 2.4 million job openings in STEM nationwide through 2018.
In addition, the Georgetown STEM study reported that the effects of STEM education have an impact beyond STEM-related fields.
“The concern for STEM shortages tends to focus on the possibility of an insufficient supply of STEM workers, but the deeper problem is a broader scarcity of workers with basic STEM competencies across the entire economy. Demand for the core competencies is far greater than the 5 percent traditional STEM employment share suggests, and stretches across the entire U.S. job market, touching virtually every industry.” The Georgetown Center report concluded, “Capable STEM students, from K-12 all the way through the postgraduate level, will be needed in the pipeline for careers that utilize STEM competencies and increase our innovative capacities.
We cannot win the future without recognizing the growing need for STEM competencies across the economy. We need more STEM talent—but not only for traditional STEM workers in traditional STEM occupations.”
PLTW is taking action by giving students in more than 6,500 schools across the United States access to high-quality STEM programs that equip them with the knowledge and skills needed for future success.
STEM Premier is a cradle‐to‐career online platform solution that assists students in designing a career pathway, educators in recruiting top talent to their schools, and employers in developing a stable, continuous talent pipeline. STEM Premier is the first online platform for STEM that allows students to showcase their STEM skills and close the talent gap that exists in the STEM fields.
The collaboration between STEM Premier and Project Lead The Way engages PLTW students—current, future, and alumni—in the process of building their individualized brand, as STEM Premier offers the ability to build an electronic portfolio that showcases their STEM knowledge, skills, and abilities.
“Project Lead The Way students are highly sought after by both higher education and business,” said John Welch, CEO of STEM Premier. “STEM Premier is honored to offer a service to PLTW students that will be a key tool in helping them actively promote their accomplishments, as well as a tool utilized by institutions of higher education and corporations to connect with those students.”
About PLTW
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the nation’s leading provider of K-12 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs. PLTW’s world-class, activity-, project-, and problem-based curriculum and high-quality teacher professional development model, combined with an engaged network of educators and corporate partners, help students develop the skills needed to succeed in our global economy. More than 6,500 elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia currently offer PLTW courses to their students. For more information, visit www.pltw.org.
About STEM Premier
Founded in 2013, STEM Premier is the first online platform for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students that integrates guidance, ranking, rating, tracking and recruiting. STEM Premier is a subscription-based, multi-channel network connecting academic institutions, corporate partners, and government agencies to a pool of qualified STEM talent in the U.S. and global markets. For more information, go to www.stempremier.com.
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Media Contacts:
Project Lead The Way
Jennifer Cahill
(317) 669-0871
jcahill@pltw.org
STEM Premier
Deb Owen
(812) 797-2987
djo@debjowen.com