It is necessary for students to decide what to study, knowing which are the most employable and attractive studies for the labor market…
- All the country faces a shortage of technical profiles that are capable of meeting the needs of the labor market and the demand for skills of companies.
- These are three keys to facilitate the formative orientation towards STEM careers.
- The work of teachers in career guidance must be coordinated with labor market trends and the emergence of new professional profiles.
The world labor market is facing a situation that should not go unnoticed, neither for companies and even less for the educational field: the shortage of human talent, especially related to technical profiles and technological innovation.
Despite the momentum and rising trend of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), increasingly demanded and better paid in the professional field, the market finds it difficult to find professionals with the necessary training and skills to face the new business context, marked by the integration of technology and new work tools.
According to the experts in search and development of talent, the educational environment and teachers play an important role, when it comes to professional guidance work, inform and present the opportunities offered by STEM profiles.
It is important to inform students well about the behavior of the labor market, so that they can make a successful decision, when they choose what to study and where that higher education can lead them.
These are some of the proposals to encourage the attractiveness of the STEM careers in the scientific field:
1. Basic competences at school
In order to go beyond the traditional professions, it is necessary for teaching to integrate subjects according to the new context.
The students are digital natives and it is necessary that the subjects of the Science and Technology areas receive more weight in the primary education.
In this way, when deciding what to study, they will have been in greater contact with the areas that generate more employment, now and in the coming years.
2. Involve the students’ environment
If students should be aware of the potential of STEM careers and technical profiles, their more direct environment should also be aware of it. It is important that parents are also informed of the current training and professional trends, so that they can help in the decision process of what to study.
On the other hand, companies are also the ones that should inform the education system and teachers, about the professional profiles they need and can not find, as well as the innovations they are integrating into their processes, such as Big Data, or automation. of industrial processes.
It is difficult to encourage STEM profiles if the people in charge of orientation do not know the current work and business.
3. Anticipation and planning
To avoid shortages of professionals or job shortages, companies must invest time and effort in detecting future areas of growth.
This will help students assess the viability of STEM careers, but it will also help the already active technical profiles to improve their preparation and adapt to the needs, with the help of the talent development programs of the companies.
If you are interested in scientific and engineering careers, do not hesitate to ask professionals and professors about how to develop the skills necessary to develop some of the professions of the future.
