Last week, we had the pleasure of attending Microsoft’s YouthSpark Connections event at The Dallas Regional Chamber with leaders from the Dallas education, government and business communities. This event, made possible by Microsoft, the Brookings Institution and The Dallas Regional Chamber, is part of a three-year initiative created to address the challenges facing our youth today—namely, the growing skills deficit limiting employment opportunities in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
Below, you’ll find some insights shared by the event’s speakers and special guests. Once you’ve had a chance to digest this information, we’d love to hear your feedback as to what next steps the local business community can take to address this issue. Because after all, it’s not the ideas but the execution of those ideas that’s going to create change that matters for youth here in Dallas.
Describing the opportunity divide with data
Following introductions by Joanne Harrell, James Oberwetter and Kristin Rhodes, Alan Berube, Senior Director and Deputy Fellow at the Brookings Institution, led the audience head first into the socioeconomic trends surrounding the youth opportunity divide here in Dallas.
He began by highlighting the levels of educational attainment among Dallas youth. Here are a few of his findings:
Dallas relies on in-migrants, who are more highly educated than its Texas-born residents. More than half of Dallas’ educated residents are from outside of the state.
The Dallas area’s young adults are less likely to be enrolled in higher education than counterparts elsewhere.
- 37 percent of 18 to 24 year olds are enrolled in higher education in the Dallas metro area, compared to 44 percent of 18 to 24 year olds in the top 100 largest U.S. metro areas.
For those who are enrolled in higher education, there are actually more enrollees in two-year programs than in four-year colleges.
- In Dallas, 62 percent of these students are enrolled in community college and 38 percent are enrolled in a 4-year program.
- Nationally, this ratio is closer to half and half.
Dallas has large gaps in educational attainment by race and ethnicity, particularly among blacks and Latinos (who, tangentially, will constitute a large portion of the working population in the future).
Next, he shared his findings about the Dallas labor market.
Job openings data point to the emergence of an “education gap” in the Dallas area.
- 47 percent of job openings in the Dallas metro require a bachelor’s degree, while only 31 percent of adults have bachelor’s degrees. This represents the 11th largest education gap (16 percent) in the country.
About one-fifth of Dallas’ jobs are in STEM-focused fields.
In the past five years, the share of jobs in the Dallas area with a STEM focus rose at a rate of 3.1 percent compared to 2.1 percent nationwide.
STEM jobs in Dallas pay a significant premium over all jobs.
Many STEM job opportunities exist for young people with less than a bachelor’s degree.
- 47 percent of these jobs typically require less than a BA/BS degree (e.g., computer systems analysts, production and operating works, automotive technicians).
Panel session: solutions going forward
Despite these findings, the panel was optimistic about the future of Dallas’ youth. With representatives from Dallas’ education, government and business communities, this panel offered a number of solutions to increase student engagement in STEM education.
As an advocate for solutions that drive to the root of this issue, Dr. Susan Simpson-Hull, superintendent for Grand Prairie ISD, stressed the need for early literacy and dual-literacy programs within the education system, as these set students up for success in high school and beyond.
At the legislative level, The Honorable Eric Johnson is joining a growing number of representatives in finding new ways to incentivize STEM classes in higher education. Since federal funding is currently 100 percent tied to enrollment, Johnson is looking for ways to tie a certain percentage of funding to the number of students enrolled in STEM programs.
Cameron Evans, chief technology officer for U.S. education at Microsoft, proposed approaching the issue through high school teachers. He suggested encouraging teachers to perform STEM-related internships during the summer months so as to keep them apprised of the opportunities available to their students.
On a similar note, Trey Bowles said connecting students with internships would be an effective way to address this issue. In his experience working with students, he’s observed that many simply don’t know what opportunities are out there and therefore have a tough time connecting their skillset with businesses they’re passionate about.
Underscoring the other panelists’ proposals, Kristin Larimore, strategic engagement leader at GE, emphasized the need for a continuous feedback loop among the business, government and education communities to create the types of graduates and certificate holders businesses are looking for.
Your ideas
Overall, the panel offered some good solutions to the problems Dallas’ youth are facing. We know, however, that it didn’t cover all the bases. That’s why we want to hear from you—whether you’re a business professional, parent or student—how The DEC can help lead the charge in addressing the opportunity gap among our youth. Specifically, we’d like to know how we could help young people be entrepreneurs.
Feel free to comment or shoot us an email at info@thedec.co.
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