It’s pretty much the same everywhere. There are simply too few skilled workers to go around. This is particularly true in the trades and industries depending on skilled workers with a background in science, technology, engineering and math. (STEM)

Provo, Utah is a good example of a technology center that should have no problem recruiting workers. Nestled in the beautiful Utah Valley surrounded by the snow-capped Wasatch Mountains and home to Brigham Young University, it still find itself forced to depend on immigrants to meet the needs of local technology companies. Provo's mayor, John Curtis says "My single biggest impediment to bringing businesses to Provo is that there are not enough qualified workers."

Stan Lockhart, an executive at IM Technologies, a semi-conductor company formed by Intel and Micron Tech in nearby Lehi, Utah agreed: "We don't have enough workers to take high paying jobs," he said. "Companies keep pleading with us to produce more. They love being in Utah. They simply can't get the people. For example, they are desperate for more software developers."

Of course what this tells us is that we need to make a paradigm change in the way we educate our youth. Unless we find a way to develop more young scientists technologists, engineers and mathematicians--and do it in a hurry!--this country is going to find itself shouldered aside by those nations that have emphasized STEM learning. RobotsLAB counts itself among those innovative companies that are capable of helping engage students more fully in all of the STEM fields. Our award-winning RobotsLAB BOX is particularly effective tool in the field of math education.

Learn more about RobotsLAB BOX, and how to engage students in math and science: