Wow! eBook
The U.S. Technology Skills Gap, + Website: What Every Technology Executive Must Know to Save America's Future
Author(s): Gary J. Beach (Author)
- Publisher: Wiley
- Publication Date: July 22, 2013
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 336 pages
- ISBN-10: 9781118477991
- ISBN-13: 9781118477991
Book Description
Is a widening “skills gap” in science and math education threatening America’s future? That is the seminal question addressed in The U.S. Technology Skills Gap, a comprehensive 104-year review of math and science education in America. Some claim this “skills gap” is “equivalent to a permanent national recession” while others cite how the gap threatens America’s future economic, workforce employability and national security.
This much is sure: America’s math and science skills gap is, or should be, an issue of concern for every business and information technology executive in the United States and The U.S Technology Skills Gap is the how-to-get involved guidebook for those executives laying out in a compelling chronologic format:
- The history of the science and math skills gap in America
- Explanation of why decades of astute warnings were ignored
- Inspiring examples of private company efforts to supplement public education
- A pragmatic 10-step action plan designed to solve the problem
- And a tantalizing theory of an obscure Japanese physicist that suggests America’s days as the global scientific leader are numbered
Engaging and indispensable, The U.S. Technology Skills Gap is essential reading for those eager to see America remain a relevant global power in innovation and invention in the years ahead.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“America has a rich tradition of making things. The increasing technical sophistication of the world, combined with historically low numbers of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates at best fails to honor that history. And, at worst, threatens to severely limit America’s future.”—Ralph Loura, Chief Information Officer, The Clorox Company
“In the past few years I have hired many deeply technical people. The vast majority of resumes for my most technical jobs come from graduates of colleges in India and China. It is clear to me that we are not preparing American students with the skills that high tech employers deem necessary.”—John Halamka, Chief Information Officer, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Professor, Harvard Medical School
“When I talk to high school and college students I find the connection of skills learned in math and science to skills used in work, and in life, is missing. Educators need to make this connection – how does a lab in science relate to work and life? How does calculus relate? These lack of connections are a serious gap in our education system.”—Nancy Newkirk, Chief Information Officer, International Data Group
“Information technology plays a pervasive and critical role in driving business capabilities and enabling corporate strategies. In order for American industry to sustain its renowned capacity to innovate, it must have a workforce equipped to develop and apply future generations of advanced information technologies.”—James Nanton, Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Hanesbrands, Inc.
“The American educational system has lost touch with the reality of providing people with the practical skills and competencies required for young professionals to add meaningful value to our corporations. America needs to rethink how we prepare young people to have meaningful careers that are both financially and intellectually rewarding.”—Larry Bonfante, Chief Information Officer, The United States Tennis Association
“One of the most difficult roles I have as a chief information officer is finding and recruiting talent. In a growing business, with average turnover rates, I run at a constant talent deficit because I cannot find people with the skills I need to the job openings I have. If the American education system cannot produce a work force with the appropriate skills then these jobs will be filled by global providers. The need to focus on creating career-ready individuals is not an educational imperative. It is an economic imperative.”—Gary King, Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Chico’s,Inc.
“The K-12 years are critical foundational years that “plant the seed” for a desire to learn, to teach vital study and research habits, to develop skill sets and to discover areas of interest and proclivity. These are pivotal years that work to shape the “whole” person. The K-12 educational phase is also the ideal period to generate interest, desire and passion for technology. Sadly, more and more of our underserved demographic groups are participating as “consumers” of technology, versus “developers” or “innovators” of such.”—Gina C.Tomlinson, Chief Technology Officer, City and County of San Francisco
“I became astutely aware that America had a problem communicating and getting children interested in technology based on an experience I had with my middle school-aged daughter who told me one day, ‘Dad, I am terrible in technology’. The first thing I told her, partly kiddingly, was not to say that in public too loudly, as that would not look good for Dad since his job is heading a technology group! But it illustrated a problem our country has: most children are not being exposed to the possibilities of technology and how the field could be interesting, challenging and great job opportunities for them and that they should not have any fears about being able to utilize technology in many ways since they already use it far more than they comprehend.”—Michael Gabriel, Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Home Box Office
“The historical position of the United States as a global technology innovator has brought us prosperity and growth. These will dry up quickly, however, if our country does not produce a steady supply of thought leaders who are able to compete in the global technology marketplace. As our world shifts more and more from atoms to bits as the currency of economic growth, America will be left behind if we are not able to compete as global innovators. As a result, we will soon find ourselves handing our global economic leadership over to a new set of leaders, and along with it, our ability to determine our own future and control of our own destiny. The United States must make profound, wholesale changes to our education system in a way that emphasizes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and encourages and motivates students to excel in these critical areas. If we fail to do so, we will lose our global competitiveness.”—Steve Mills, Chief Information Officer, Rackspace Hosting Inc.
“‘Survival of the fittest’ has shaped the evolution of our species for hundreds, thousands, even millions of years. In the 21st century business context, the fittest are those with the ability to think critically, solve problems, innovate and collaborate effectively with one another. If we fail to equip our children with these skills through significant enhancements to our education systems, how will they ever survive.”—Bill Schlough, Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, San Francisco Giants
Review
Praise for The U.S. Technology Skill Gap: What Every Technology Executive Must Know to Save America’s Future
“The U.S. Technology Skills Gap is a compelling ‘call to action’ to address the decline of one of the most basic building blocks for the future of our economy: world class math and science skills. Skills Gap explains why solving this problem must be America’s highest national priority.”—Tony Scott, Chief Information Officer, Microsoft Corporation
“Beach’s book is a badly needed, data-driven wake-up call, challenging educators, politicians, parents and voters to a national debate aimed at rescuing much of American education from its still-rising tide of mediocrity. The book’s high-spirited style invites a reader who may not agree with a specific proposal to get serious and develop a practical, evidence-based alternative. For above all, the status quo is no longer acceptable.”—Dr. Gerald Holton, member of 1983 National Commission on Excellence in Education, and principal writer, A Nation at Risk and Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics, Harvard University
“Gary Beach could not have taken on a more timely or important subject. Science and math education is the key to America’s future. Yet our approach to teaching science, technology, engineering and math has not changed as the stakes have. With keen insight, Beach explains how we got here, what changes we must make and why this is a problem that every CEO and citizen should care about.”—Wendy Kopp, Chief Executive Officer, Founder, Teach for America
“The lack of science and math skills among our nation’s students is one of the greatest threats to American competitiveness. Gary Beach’s thorough examination of how the U.S. has reached this precarious point is a startling walk through history. The innovative efforts he highlights, and his recommendations to improve public education in America, should serve as guideposts to those with the passion and nerve to act.”—Dr. Jim Goodnight, Chief Executive Officer, SAS
“A society is defined by its product development and manufacturing ingenuity built on a foundation of math and science knowledge. Given our record over the last number of years, are the best days of the U.S. behind us? Not if Gary Beach and The U.S. Technology Skills Gap can help it!”—Ralph Szygenda, former Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, General Motors Corporation
From the Inside Flap
It is a fact. For nearly fifty years, American students have performed poorly in global and domestic math and science examinations. For a nation that annually invests $583 billion in public education, The U.S. Technology Skills Gap argues, the American taxpayer deserves a better return on investment. McKinsey and Company says it more bluntly: “These educational gaps imposed on the United States are the economic equivalent of a permanent national recession.”
Global technology expert Gary Beach pre-sents in The U.S. Technology Skills Gap an all-in-one-place primer on the history of math and science education in America. Presented chronologically, The U.S. Technology Skills Gap goes back over 100 years to connect the dots on why American students are falling further behind students in other countries and explains what this skills gap means for the future strength of America’s economy, the employability of its workforce, and the strength of its national security.
Based on his thirty-year career in the information technology arena, Beach proposes that if the U.S. aims to meet President Obama’s challenge to “out-innovate,” “out-educate,” and “out-build” the rest of the world, the current structure of the American education system, designed to support a 19th-century agrarian/manufacturing-based economy, needs systemic reform to educate young Americans with the strong quantitative and communicative skills needed in the 21st century.
A Chinese proverb says, “If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people.” The seminal message of The U.S. Technology Skills Gap is one of hope presenting scores of great examples of companies and individuals working together to reinvent America for another 100 years of prosperity by growing people.
From the Back Cover
Praise for The U.S. Technology Skills Gap
“The U.S. Technology Skills Gap is a compelling ‘call to action’ to address the decline of one of the most basic building blocks for the future of our economy: world-class math and science skills. Gary Beach explains why solving this problem must be America’s highest national priority.”
—Tony Scott, Chief Information Officer, Microsoft Corporation
“Beach’s book is a badly needed, data-driven wake-up call, challenging educators, politicians, parents, and voters to a national debate aimed at rescuing much of American education from its still-rising tide of mediocrity. The book’s high-spirited style invites a reader who may not agree with a specific proposal to get serious and develop a practical, evidence-based alternative. For above all, the status quo is no longer acceptable.”
—Dr. Gerald Holton, member of 1983 National Commission on Excellence in Education and principal writer, A Nation at Risk; Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics, Harvard University
“Gary Beach could not have taken on a more timely or important subject. Science and math education is the key to America’s future. Yet our approach to teaching science, technology, engineering, and math has not changed as the stakes have. With keen insight, Beach explains how we got here, what changes we must make, and why this is a problem that every CEO and citizen should care about.”
—Wendy Kopp, Chief Executive Officer and founder, Teach for America
“The lack of science and math skills among our nation’s students is one of the greatest threats to American competitiveness. Gary Beach’s thorough examination of how the U.S. has reached this precarious point is a startling walk through history. The innovative efforts he highlights, and his recommendations to improve public education in America, should serve as guideposts to those with the passion and nerve to act.”
—Dr. Jim Goodnight, Chief Executive Officer, SAS
“A society is defined by its product development and manufacturing ingenuity built on a foundation of math and science knowledge. Given our record over the last number of years, are the best days of the U.S. behind us? Not if Gary Beach and The U.S. Technology Skills Gap can help it!”
—Ralph Szygenda, former Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, General Motors Corporation
“This book is a sober reminder of the crisis our country faces in producing a 21st-century workforce that will enable America to continue to lead the world. It also clearly points out that while government-backed education is a large part of the problem, it is unlikely to be part of the solution any time soon. The crisis is being addressed initially by those who most critically need well-educated workers—the employers of this country. Their grass-roots efforts and experimentation are providing bright spots that can influence and hopefully change the system in time to make a difference.”
—Paul Otellini, member of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness; former President and Chief Executive Officer, Intel Corporation
About the Author
GARY J. BEACH, in his role as publisher emeritus for IDG’s CIO magazine, is a highly regarded spokesperson throughout the United States and global technology industry. He has appeared often on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street program and, for four years, aired technology commentaries on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition programs.
