By Lynn Hatter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-983854.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – Florida is looking to diversity its economy. It's setting its sights on high-wage, high-technology jobs and creating a new, science-heavy manufacturing sector. In return, businesses want a guarantee there will be workers for those kind of jobs. And as Lynn Hatter reports, training those workers starts in the classroom.
At Danfoss Turborcore, employees are busy making compressors that can cool buildings the size of football fields. The Tallahassee-based company relies heavily on engineers, but one of its engineering directors, Kevin Gehrke, says it's hard finding people with the right skills.
"We're having trouble finding engineers that do come from the states that have what we need. It's difficult to find. And not just American engineers, but engineers in general. A lot of the people we find do tend to be from outside the country, either education or born, and they seem to have the knowledge we're looking for."
Science was neglected for nearly a decade as state leaders placed more emphasis on reading and math during the 1990's. But over the past several years, science education has made a comeback. The MetLife Education Foundation surveyed several groups to find out what they want and expect from the nation's education system. Met Life's Rick Love says the results showed that sometimes what people expect versus what they want are two completely different things.
"The survey did find that employers, parents, students and teachers put more value on skills than they do on challenging content in math and science. And I think that's a value that has to be reconciled. Where are the students going to come from to fill STEM jobs and pursue STEM careers if we're not expecting and providing more challenging mastery of math and science?
"My name is Anna Rushin, I'm in 8th grade and I go to Raa Middle School."
Dad: "No you don't"
Anna: "Are you sure?"
Dad: "Where are you going to school?
Anna: Oh, I'm going to School at Rickards."
This is Anna and her Dad, Rob Rushin. Anna is a freshman at Rickards High School this year. Over the summer she attended a camp for girls interested in science at Florida State University's Magnet Lab, and she's got big plans for her future.
Sound- "For the past 6-7 years I've been interested in science, but I've been bounced around a lot in science, from physicists, to biologist right now I'm at astrobiologist, so "
Students like Anna are the future workforce to fill the jobs Florida is trying to attract to jumpstart its economy. The Florida Department of Education is responding to the state's needs by changing the way it teaches subjects like science. It's putting more emphasis on the subject by launching new end-of-course exams in Algebra, Geometry and Biology. Educators like former high school principal Jean Ferguson say it's about time.
"When you talk to high schools, you know, we'd have a whole review but what they're tested on in 11th grade, they learned in 9th grade and then it doesn't mean anything to the student personally." Reporter: It's like, it's not a factor for my graduation, it doesn't determine whether I pass or fail, so, why bother? Ferguson: Do you blame them? They're investing in reading and math, and they're right. So, now that we're going to end-of-course exams, I'm thrilled."
The state's new found emphasis on science isn't lost on students like Anna Rushin. She says it's important for other students to understand the importance of science and how it affects their lives.
"Science how far its advancing now, it's going to affect global warming, everything, their whole lives. I think it's really interesting and it's really cool. They should definitely care because it's going to affect the future."
And her dad, Rob Rushin, agrees.
"It's a pretty strange time in the economy, that's for sure. You have a whole series to work on here We live in a world where we're faced with many different problems. And all too many people are approaching those problems without a rigorous approach. There's too much reliance on superstition. And Science, for all of its problems, is the only self-correcting way of understanding the world."
Back at Danfoss Turborcore, a shipment of compressors, loaded onto wooden pallets and sealed in white boxes is about to be go out. The compressors will soon power buildings as far away as Australia, Germany, Italy, and China. And Danfoss' Human Resources Director David Bowman says he thinks science is the key to the U.S. staying ahead of its global competitors.
Sound- "You go back to the high school student who wants to go into that field. That's where business will be going. That's where the future lies, and if the U.S. isn't on board and leading that curve, then another country will."
Businesses are looking for workers, and across the state, Colleges and universities are forming partnerships with companies in the hopes of attracting research dollars, and of course, jobs.