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Hispanic Talent Pool and STEM Jobs: Leading Towards a Better Future
With an advance mobile technology era, U.S. employers are no more experiencing slow growth and continual instability in business. New technology innovations have extended a helping hand to develop world nations that offer high standards of training and education, foster economic development and address societal issues, like gender inequality and diversity.
To continue economic development, it is required that businesses build a world-class workforce that is capable of creating great technology innovations (and not only consume them). It simply means that U.S. employers that are looking for a competitive edge should consider Hispanic population both as potential employees as well as consumers.
According to a report by SHRM and CHCI (Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute), U.S. organizations have skill shortage in the fields of engineering, manufacturing and information technology, and should turn to rapidly growing Hispanic population to fill talent gaps. To sustain economic expansion, organizations require employees that are qualified enough to competitively take up jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Will Hispanic Millennials Fill Skill Gaps for U.S. Employers?
Yes, they will!
It has been estimated that Hispanics will make 40% of U.S. workforce in next 5 years.
A collaborated report presented by SHRM and CHCI states that 14.6 million or 1/4th of the total Hispanic population are millennials (aged between 18 to 33) and only 18.6% possess a bachelor’s degree or higher. In order to qualify for competent STEM jobs, Hispanics need extensive professional training and high qualification (of course, more than a high school diploma). And that’s where organizations can bring a change!
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that more than one million STEM jobs will be created in next 10 years. Hispanics will account for 6 to 7 percent of those newly created STEM jobs.
These jobs may go unfilled due to lack of skills, training and education in the employees. To overcome these shortcomings, it is required to engage and motivate Hispanic workforce to get proper education and employee training. Lately, a change has been observed in the Hispanic skill certification pattern. Many young Latinos have obtained higher graduate degrees and STEM certificates, thereby increasing the overall certification count from 3655 to 9502. Higher education, professional course certifications and training and development reduce skill gaps as well as make Hispanic millennials viable for future STEM jobs.
Top HR Technology Predictions to Build Skilled Workforce
The advent of cloud HR technology has given smart online HR tools that can help U.S. businesses to prepare young Latinos to be the future of 21st century STEM jobs. These configurable online HR tools support small, medium and large businesses to hire, educate, train & develop, engage, motivate and retain Hispanics millennials.
Hispanic millennials are being attracted by the employers through HR practices such as:
Training and Development Cloud training tools are facilitating mentoring in colleges and amongst workforce. This is being done through multiple training programs, including internships and apprenticeships. As a new initiative, SHRM and CHCI have offered a paid HR internship program for graduate and undergraduate students.
STEM jobs are rapidly growing in technology sector; if Hispanics are trained well, they stand a chance to fill those upcoming one million STEM jobs competitively.
Peer Support Systems and Creative Benefits Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas are offering employee development and professional skill training, educational sessions and leadership opportunities to Hispanic millennials for their better growth.
Hispanics are offered multiple creative benefits, including student loan repayment, scholarships, maternity and family leave, tuition reimbursement, for better employee engagement and retention.
Author’s take…
Diversity in Workforce Gives a Competitive Advantage to U.S. Employers
By 2050, the U.S. population is expected to double with nearly 50% population made by minor groups. One fourth of the total population will be Hispanics.
American future workforce is expected to have women, men, old Americans and people with disabilities from multiple regions. Availability of larger talent pool will narrow down the skill gaps. Businesses will need employees with multi-lingual skills and understanding towards diverse culture. These abilities would assist them to compete well and win all around the global marketplace. That’s how U.S. employers can capitalize on America’s diversity, sustain economic growth and have a competitive advantage over other nations!
