6-minute read - by Kate Brunton, November 21, 2018
Society is facing an approaching global talent shortage as the job market struggles to keep up with the ever-increasing prevalence of technology. Tech companies like ASML play an important role in promoting interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) among school-aged children, the workforce of the future.
“We’re All Nerds Now,” reads a New York Times article headline from back in 2014. “Never before has the boundary between geek culture and mainstream culture been so porous,” they continue. This is certainly still true today, perhaps even more so. The days of being considered socially awkward or even inferior as a nerd are over. Being a nerd is, frankly, cool.
Combatting talent shortages
Despite this shift in popular culture (and probably also because of it), tech companies are struggling to find talent. Recent research conducted by global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry predicts that a global talent shortage could threaten business growth around the world. Their Global Talent Crunch study estimates that technological advancement across all sectors of the economy could be hindered by an acute global labor shortage of 4.3 million TMT (technology, media, and telecommunications) workers by 2030. Interestingly, they also predict that manufacturing will also face a talent deficit crisis of 7.9 million workers globally by 2030.
Governments across the globe are promoting STEM education in an effort to make up for this skills shortage. However, governments aren’t the only entities promoting STEM. Tech companies play a big role in influencing both society and government’s attitude towards science and technology.
In ASML’s home country of the Netherlands, companies are working together with schools and government organizations to increase the pool of young technical experts as part of what’s called the ‘Technology Pact 2020’. It’s a much-needed endeavor: the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) at the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics anticipates a yearly shortage of 30,000 technicians in the Dutch labor market (link in Dutch).
Since 2009, ASML has been actively promoting STEM among primary and secondary school children in our home country of the Netherlands, and we have recently expanded our activities to our locations in the US and Asia.
Inform and inspire
In STEM promotion, information is key. “Young people need to be able to make a well-informed decision about what they want to study,” says Jos Vreeker, community relations and STEM promotion specialist at ASML, in the YouTube video below. “Often kids simply aren’t aware of the possibilities open to them in technology, or of what a technical job might look like.”
