High-tech and energy sector employers have a “wish list” for educators and policy makers to follow if Triangle firms are going to find workers in the future that meet skill set demand.

Some 123 tech and energy firms participated in a survey conducted by RTI International for the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster, an industry trade group. (Firms expect to hire up to 3,300 people with the right skills over the next five years, the survey says.)

Priorities include:

  • STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education that’s fun …
  • Better communication skills
  • “Real world,” not “regurgitation

And more.

More WTW Insider coverage on survey – Economic development wish list: In a new survey conducted by RTI International for the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster, 123 executives from tech and energy firms were asked what “kind of support” they wanted in order to boost economic growth. From lower taxes to more marketing, education, mass transit and training.

Here’s the STEM survey questions and the answers:

If you could include or strengthen the kindergarten to higher education curriculum to create stronger paths for students to successfully enter into careers at your company, what would you do?

  • STEM – Strengthen STEM across the board, vocational training that emphasizes technical skill acquisition, make the STEM program more fun, educate children on what the future career market will look like
  • Communication – Reading writing, speaking presentation skills, relationship skills
  • Real World Applications – Practical learnings, simulations, case studies, deemphasize regurgitation, business and or technical skill building classes and scenarios
  • Programming – Computer, software development; data and data structures; data coding
  • Entrepreneurship and Innovation Basics – Expose students to entrepreneurship, its potential and pitfalls; importance of innovative “out of the box” thinking and approaches
  • Teamwork – Project work to get kids to work together to identify a problem, develop a solution, and implement the solution making adjustments on the way
  • Integrated/Interdisciplinary – Multiculturalism, focus on energy (technology, production, and use) combined with analysis and computer control concepts, ability to innovate and collaborate across diverse skillsets, greater emphasis on interdisciplinary writing and engineering
  • Business and Finance – Fundamentals, adopting business perspective, customer empathy