The recent publication of the university entrance cut-off scores once again confirms a reality: students’ interest in Science or STEAM careers. The joint programs of Physics-Mathematics and Mathematics and Computer Engineering have the highest scores, followed by Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, and Biotechnology. This reflects our young people’s awareness of the favorable moment Aragón is experiencing regarding business investments in general, and technological ones in particular.
In other words, our Autonomous Community requires a lot of STEAM talent, and our youth are aware of it. The disconnection between educational offerings and business needs is one of the areas identified by the CEOE Aragón Think Tank that needs to be addressed to improve our competitiveness. In healthcare degrees, a deficit of 1,500 nursing professionals and more than 250 just in primary care medicine is estimated.
Given this context, from the +STEAM Aragón Alliance (driven by CEOE, Directivas de Aragón, and the DGA, along with more than 50 organizations) we advocate that these competencies should be considered core skills and extended from the earliest educational stages to the most advanced ones. However, a factor that also affects quality is being identified: the lack of updating and specialization of teachers in technological and STEAM areas.
In this regard, we identify three gaps that teachers, families, businesses, and institutions need to work on. The first is the gender gap: our young women are not interested in STEAM. The figures are not very encouraging: only 25% of STEAM students in Aragón are girls, and even fewer in some engineering fields. Creating inclusive and equal environments both in the classroom and in the workplace is everyone’s responsibility.
The second gap identified is the regional gap: in some respects, rural areas do not have the same opportunities as urban ones. Looking towards the future, the solution cannot be for young people to leave rural areas for the cities.
The third problem that needs to be addressed is socioeconomic in nature and relates to education in schools: the lack of integrated training programs allows families who are aware of the importance of technology and have greater purchasing power to supplement education with extracurricular activities.
Public-private collaboration is vital to solving the current disconnection between education and the labor market. Aragón faces significant development opportunities where talent and its proper management are key.
OPINION ARTICLE CEOE ARAGÓN
AUTHOR: María Sasot, Vice President of CEOE Zaragoza and President of Directivas de Aragón
