“Chat With the Chancellor” is a column authored by Dr. Bill Lindemann, chancellor of San Jacinto College. For questions, e-mail teri.fowle@sjcd.edu or call 281-998-6151.

In the last editorial I wrote, I discussed our changing community and the changing workforce needs.  In this editorial, I would like to talk further about the job market and how San Jacinto College is working to train a workforce for our local industries.

The changing market

The United States is experiencing a shortage of professionals in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers. According to the National Alliance for Pre-engineering Programs, currently, “there are over one million jobs available in the United States in engineering and technical fields but no qualified candidates to fill them.”

This need is currently at a critical level and will only continue to grow.  In the last 20 years, STEM careers grew four times faster than other career fields.  In the past 10 years, the United States slipped from 3rd in the world to 17th in graduating engineers alone.  In fact, China and India graduate far more engineers than the United States.

Economist Michael Porter and Texas economist Ray Perryman have identified six industry clusters that will be an engine for economic growth in Texas. All six industry clusters identified are located within the San Jacinto College district and require fluency in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Jobs in our community with a science, technology and math foundation include petrochemical, process technology, non-destructive testing, medical and allied health, NASA, aerospace fields, maritime industry, engineering, drafting, automotive technology, diesel technology, advanced manufacturing, energy, and information technology.  What makes the situation even more challenging is jobs in these areas all require continual skill upgrading.

San Jacinto College is working with our local independent school districts and is partnering with other area community colleges and industry to address these critical needs.  Beginning this summer, the College will offer an Energy Venture Career Orientation camp for 12-14 year olds.  The pilot program will contain 80 young people.  The summer career orientation camp and the initial 2009 target is 1,000 young people per year in the Gulf Coast who have the best possibility of staying within 50 miles of their local community to work and raise their family.  The camp will focus on jobs/careers, environment, safety, and math and science.  One of the goals of the camp is to help dispel the negative image of the petrochemical industry as a dirty and dangerous business.  It will also address the lack of awareness of the good paying and high technical skill jobs with flexible hours.

Why are we pushing this so hard?

There is a significant lack of awareness in the public of the excellent industry jobs available right here in our community.  Our industries are currently facing a shortage of craft skilled workers in fields such as pipefitting, welding and construction.  They are also seeing a shortage of technicians and technical workers.  If the high end of the estimated 45-65% of the current technical workforce and the 50-75% of the currently employed engineers and senior managers who are eligible to retire in the next 10 years do retire, our industries will experience much greater worker shortages.  If the education community, industries and the families of our current children in our schools can work together, we will not only successfully address these challenges, but also assure that the next generation of our citizens will enjoy the same quality of life their parents and grandparents have had living in the San Jacinto College District.

In order to keep a strong economy and jobs in our area, it is very important our local high schools and San Jacinto College work together with petrochemical companies, the Port of Houston, area hospitals, NASA, and all of our area employers to create the highly skilled and trained workforce they need and keep local residents in good jobs.

Thanks to the excellent partnerships that San Jacinto College has with our local employers who make these industries so crucial to the vitality of our economy, we are able to constantly receive industry feedback on how we should modify our instructional programs to keep at the fore front of the highest of industry standards.

 In addition, we work with area employers to provide their employees constant skill upgrades.  In the last three years alone San Jac and our industry partners have secured over $13.5 million in state and federal workforce training grants to help fund the skill upgrade training of district residents who work for area employers.

In the next Chat with the Chancellor, I would like to discuss a significant need for allied health workers and let you know what San Jacinto College is doing to train workers in these medical related careers.