Baltimore Business Journal Commentary: STEM education key to city’s future

Posted in Writings

Ronald Daniels
Stanley Litow, Contributors

Throughout the past year, Baltimore has been engaged in an earnest conversation about how to change the city’s trajectory, bending it in a way that provides opportunities for all of its residents and bolsters economic growth.

Equipping our next generation with the academic and real-world skills needed to prepare them for the emerging economy remains one of the most important economic challenges of our time. And, in fact, there is ample evidence of a widening gap between job opportunities and skilled workers in the city. For example, the Greater Baltimore Committee and the Associated Black Charities recently identified a growing need for workers who can fill the more than 120,000 middle-skilled STEM jobs in Baltimore. Notably, these are jobs that, on average, pay more than a living wage. Johns Hopkins alone has more than 33,000 employees in Baltimore, and a significant percentage of its jobs require skills credentials that can make it hard to find qualified candidates.

Read more on the Baltimore Business Journal.