Last week, TASC hosted a daylong session with executives and technology leaders to give four middle and high school professors the opportunity to become familiar with the basic knowledge and skills students will need to be prosperous in the 21st century workforce, which is built on a strong foundation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This program is a part of George Washington University’s Teachers in Industry Project.
“It’s important that industry reach out to teachers and students so that STEM curricula stay current and relevant,” said Rich Rosenthal, TASC Chief Technology Officer. “By working together, we can minimize and hopefully eliminate the gap between our students’ education and the skills employers like TASC need.”
Almost 12 percent of employees are hired in STEM jobs in the Washington D.C. area compared to about five percent nationally. Recent studies have shown that high school graduates in the United States are lagging behind their peers worldwide when it comes to science and mathematics. However, jobs in engineering are increasing at triple the rate compared to other occupations.
“Our goal is to help students expand their understanding of science, technology and math, and, hopefully, inspire them to pursue careers in these fields,” Rosenthal said. “Employers in the national security sector need strong STEM skills to meet our national security challenges.”
TASC is one of the leading providers of advanced systems engineering, integration and decision-support services to the Intelligence Community, and Department of Defense and various other civilian agencies of the federal government. For more information on TASC, please visit their website here.
