Employers must redefine STEM to attract future talent
Alan Stukalsky, chief digital officer for Randstad North America

While conversations continue and programs form to increase the number of women in STEM careers, the lack of women in these fields also remains an issue. In order to better understand reasons for the shortage of qualified workers, Randstad US conducted a study to uncover some of the challenges facing STEM industries and how focusing more on today’s youth, may be one place to start.
We believe the following key findings will help define the STEM industry of the future:
The study revealed not only a lack of students’ awareness of what types of STEM jobs exist, but also a lack of personal connection to STEM professionals and how STEM jobs are defined.
- 52 percent of students say they don’t know anyone with a job in STEM, and more than 1 in 4 students (27%) say they haven’t talked to anyone about jobs in STEM.
Young people reported high enthusiasm for careers not explicitly defined as STEM but requiring related skills, suggesting the need for broader education as to how STEM skills can be applied in fields beyond math and science.
- 64 percent of students rate creating video games for a living as very fun, while 90 percent rate it somewhat fun.
Despite significant progress over the past several decades in young women’s participation and performance in STEM subjects, a major gender gap still exists.
- Girls are 34 percent more likely than boys to say that STEM jobs are hard to understand.
For more key findings from today’s announcement and the complete report “Randstad STEM Study and Insights Report,” visit us at RandstadUSA.com.
Alan Stukalsky, chief digital officer for Randstad North America, is responsible for leveraging digital tools, big data and artificial intelligence to create industry leading solutions. He is also instrumental in integrating the company’s marketing strategies with its sales and delivery approach. Alan holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Emory University.

About Randstad North America: Randstad North America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Randstad Holding nv, a € 20.7 billion global provider of HR services. Through its unique approach of delivering HR innovation with human interaction at the center, Randstad secures and manages a workforce of more than 100,000 people for thousands of clients each week. As a trusted partner in the post-digital world of talent, Randstad advances the careers and business success of our candidates and clients through a combination of the best of high-tech and high-touch processes.
Employing over 6,500 recruiting experts through approximately 1,100 offices and client-dedicated locations, Randstad North America provides outsourcing, staffing, consulting and workforce solutions within the areas of engineering, finance and accounting, healthcare, human resources, IT, legal, life sciences, manufacturing and logistics, office and administration and sales and marketing. Learn more at www.randstadusa.com.
