Monday, August 22, 2011

Blog:

Talent is our competitive advantage

By Gary DiCamillo

Massachusetts is a national leader in education, producing some of the most talented and entrepreneurial workers in the world. We believe these workers, many of whom are central to our thriving high technology and biotech industries, are key to driving future growth in an innovation-based economy. Sustaining this talent pipeline is a competitive advantage that Massachusetts needs to be successful in the global economy.

At the Massachusetts Business Roundtable (MBR), a public policy organization comprised of top executives from companies representing more than 210,000 employees in the Commonwealth, we strongly endorse investing in our human and intellectual capital as a critical component of a successful, long-term economic development strategy.

Recognizing the importance of these investments, business leaders issued a call to action two years ago to make science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) a statewide public policy priority. The STEM Business Leaders Coalition, convened by MBR, called for building STEM awareness, motivating students to pursue STEM careers, and improving the quality of STEM teaching. Given the glaring needs of our technology-based economy, generating greater enthusiasm for STEM careers is a challenge to our long-term economic vitality.

With leadership from Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, the business community, and years of efforts by committed STEM advocates across the state, Massachusetts is making significant headway and receiving national attention for our work in STEM. A state infrastructure has been created, the first-ever statewide STEM plan has been developed, and plans to execute on that plan are in place. Last week, the National Governor’s Association convened representatives from 10 states for a “Learning Lab” here in Massachusetts to learn more about our progress and how our experience can help other states to both develop and promote a STEM agenda.

So, what is Massachusetts doing to drive progress on the STEM agenda?

1. Leadership. Gov. Deval Patrick formed the STEM Advisory Council, comprised of leaders from business, education, government and non-profits, to create a strategy to ensure that all students are educated in STEM fields. And the STEM Business Leaders Coalition remains actively engaged in moving the STEM agenda forward.

2. Measurable goals. The advisory council, led by Lt. Governor Tim Murray, is implementing the first statewide STEM plan. The plan has concrete goals and benchmarks focused on increasing student interest, preparation and achievement, improving STEM teaching, and increasing the number of students who enter STEM fields. The council is working to establish the necessary infrastructure and resources to support the implementation phase of the Plan.

3. Alignment. Developing an implementation process that aligns district needs with funders from the business community to support scalable projects is a key to the early success of the STEM Plan. Being results driven, and supporting projects that have a solid track record of success, are fundamental building blocks of the STEM agenda.

Nationally, there is strong leadership coming from organizations including Change the Equation, which was launched last fall by President Obama, featuring more than 110 corporate members, who are providing an infusion of over $500 million annually to strengthen STEM learning and literacy. Massachusetts is actively working with Change the Equation, which recently said of the Massachusetts plan, “This effort to avoid scattershot improvement strategies promises to increase the impact of the state’s work to improve STEM learning.”

We agree. Through state and federal collaboration we are experiencing firsthand the impact that can be made when leaders in government, industry and universities come together around a true results-oriented agenda. Massachusetts has a great mix of talented, entrepreneurial people coming out of our world-class universities. We also have large, established employers with significant needs for workers with STEM skills.

By working together, business, government, advocates and practitioners are creating a new model in STEM leadership. We are investing in our most significant competitive advantage — our human and intellectual capital — and in doing so, are producing some of the world’s best educated, most highly sought after workers to fuel our current and future economy. This is the foundation for sustained economic growth, and these are the messages we intend to share with our colleagues from around the country as they seek to learn from Massachusetts successes.

Gary DiCamillo is managing partner at Eaglepoint Advisors LLC and serves as chair of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable’s Task Force on Education and Workforce Development.