US News & World Report, US: Cognizant’s Senior Director, Global Corporate Affairs and President and CEO of Per Scholas Discuss the Importance of STEM Training for the American Economy

“The National Association of Manufacturers reports that the number of U.S. students pursuing STEM degrees is only growing by approximately 1 percent each year,” write Eric Westphal and Plinio Ayala in US News & World Report. “There are simply not enough American-born STEM workers to allow the United States to innovate and compete in the global marketplace, putting us at a disadvantage with other countries.” Excerpts:

“This week, political, business and non-profit leaders will gather in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. News and World Report STEM Solutions: Workforce of Tomorrow conference. The conference serves as a valuable opportunity for all of us to acknowledge the growing domestic STEM skills gap, the immediate threat it poses to our economy and how a private U.S. company and an educational non-profit can come together to provide educational opportunities to disadvantaged Americans.

These talent shortages at companies across America often force them to move their operations overseas, undermining the United States' credibility and dominance in the global economy. This has a devastating impact on America's domestic economy. To combat this, Cognizant has partnered with Per Scholas, a leading non-profit that provides tuition-free IT training and career coaching to develop high-skilled local technology talent that will make up the workforce of tomorrow.

As we eagerly anticipate the important discussions the STEM Solutions: Workforce of Tomorrow conference will spark, we look forward to engaging with partners across all industries, bringing awareness to the important issue of workforce development in STEM-related fields. Too much is at stake for the United States to ignore this pressing issue and so much more needs to be done to ensure America remains competitive in the global marketplace.”

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