Meeting Regional STEMM Workforce Needs in the Wake of COVID-19: Proceedings of a Virtual Workshop Series (2021)
Chapter: Appendix A: Statement of Task
Appendix A
Statement of Task
A committee will plan and host a series of six virtual workshops to identify immediate and near-term regional science, technology, engineering, math, and medical (STEMM) workforce needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has impacted workforce demand that includes, but is not limited to, data analytics for logistics and operations, health care, manufacturing, agriculture, and IT infrastructure. The workshops will highlight promising practices that 2-year and 4-year higher education institutions, as well as non-academic training and certification programs, can utilize to respond urgently and appropriately to those needs. In this context, effectiveness of the practices will be judged, in part, on the number of learners who can be reached, especially in the skilled technical workforce. A series of five regionally specific virtual sessions will address the following questions:
- How have the current and near-term regional STEMM labor market needs changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the needs for the skilled technical workforce (e.g., in IT and computing fields, health tech sectors, manufacturing)?
- To what extent can a regional profile be created that links STEMM educational and training resources with COVID-19 impacted workforce needs, including retraining and certification of professionals?
- What practices and policies can local higher education institutions and workforce training organizations adopt to respond to local industry STEMM workforce needs, both individually and as part of regional coalitions? Which effective practices and policies are replicable and scalable? What barriers, if any, exist that inhibit these programs from meeting COVID-19 shifts in regional STEMM workforce needs?
- How can workforce training and education systems address the significant and urgent needs of the underrepresented minority population, which has been especially impacted by the effects of COVID-19? Can the recent events related to the death of George Floyd raise awareness of the disenfranchisement of the nation’s underrepresented minority populations that result from institutionalized racism, and therefore increase focus on the particular needs of those populations?
- What actions are needed to assist local higher education institutions, training and certification programs, industry, and policy makers at the local, state, and federal levels in fostering improved linkages between education and training resources and STEMM workforce needs at the regional level as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Following the five regional sessions, the committee will convene a concluding virtual workshop, and a designated rapporteur will prepare a proceedings of the workshop series.
