STEM job demand outpaces qualified graduates

A robust engineering workforce is critical for the future: from solving the climate crisis to ensuring national security, and beyond.

The number of engineers in the workforce falls short of the need in emerging fields. Overall the field lacks both gender and racial diversity needed to foster more creative, resilient, and innovative perspectives.

Engineering education helps close the K-12 learning gap

Engineering lessons are essential to accommodating diverse learning needs, inspiring cross-disciplinary problem-solving, and building capable and confident next-generation inside a technology-dependent society.

Unfortunately, many students are underserved, with little or no access to engineering education.

Through a unique mix of quantitative and qualitative research, we looked closely at the state of the K–12 education system, classroom dynamics, and attitudes/experiences with STEM education. The audience discovery offered inspiration and guidance for the solutions, identifying the drivers, barriers and strategic leverage points to bringing engineering education into K-12 classrooms across the country.

We developed a campaign to increase the demand for TeachEngineering's free library of teaching tools, particularly in under-resourced schools, by helping K-12 educators see that engineering is already prevalent and pertinent to their classrooms and students.

The campaign was shared with three key educator audience segments through targeted, multichannel distribution including influencers, social media, paid online media, email marketing, and other owned digital platforms.

We showcased how everyday materials and TeachEngineering resources combine to create lively activities that highlight engineering principles found in everyday moments. These simple vignettes have encouraged teachers across the nation – no matter their STEM background – to enrich their lesson plans.