When it comes to legislation – either in Olympia or Washington, D.C. – there often is a disconnect between the goal and the reality. The best laid plans, it is said, often go awry.
While visiting Clark County last week, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray touched upon the difference between ambition and success. Speaking at the nLIGHT manufacturing facility in Camas, Cantwell said: “The workforce shortage is a really key issue. What you have here is an ecosystem. We want to grow it. We want it to be even more robust. And if you do that, then other companies will look at the region.”
Cantwell and Murray were on a victory tour of sorts, jointly visiting Clark County to promote legislative successes, including passage of the CHIPS and Science Act. The bill, signed recently by President Joe Biden, authorizes nearly $250 billion in federal spending over a decade for research, development and manufacturing in science and technology.
The nLIGHT facility provides a logical place to talk about such issues. The company produces high-powered lasers that are used by electronics manufacturers, as well as in defense and aerospace. “We’ve developed this critical technology in the U.S.,” Chief Executive Scott Keeney said. “We’re continuing to expand and we’re bringing manufacturing back from overseas.”
That reaches the crux of the matter. Regardless of support from the federal and state governments or plaudits from high-ranking officials or leadership from innovative minds, companies such as nLIGHT cannot grow without a qualified workforce. The same can be said about Camas-based Analog Devices or the numerous burgeoning high-tech companies in the region.
According to the National Science Foundation, the United States ranks seventh among 37 developed democracies in science education and 25th in mathematics literacy. Similar studies have routinely shown the nation with middling rankings in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
In a recent column, George Will of The Washington Post quotes one expert as noting: “In the year 2000 the U.S. graduated 1.9 times as many scientists and engineers at the baccalaureate level as China; but, by 2020, China was graduating 2.4 times as many as the U.S. At the doctorate level, the U.S. lead was a factor of 3.3, whereas today China leads by a factor of 1.1.”
Our state has taken steps to address that. In 2013, the Legislature approved the STEM Education Innovation Alliance to develop strategies for improving high-tech education, and other legislative efforts have sought to improve access to such education.
But improving STEM programs can go beyond formal education; it can be as simple as improving access to broadband internet, perhaps inspiring students who otherwise might never have had an interest in high-tech fields.
Writing about high-tech fields earlier this year, Forbes.com reported on “a talent demand that cannot be met with existing work forces and dwindling numbers of people entering the workforce.”
That situation is even more extreme than the raw statistics demonstrate. A large percentage of graduates from U.S. STEM programs are foreign nationals, and many of them return to their native countries after graduating.
Providing opportunities for American students and sparking their interest in high-tech fields will be essential for a growing industry that is essential to our nation’s economy and its security. It also is essential for making sure the future realities mesh with the current goals of lawmakers.
