Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds the following: Over the past 10 years, the growth in jobs requiring science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (referred to in this section as STEM ) skills was three times faster than the growth in non-STEM jobs. STEM skills and knowledge are now required in a wide range of occupations, including many that are not traditionally considered to be science or engineering related. Over 50 percent of jobs that require STEM skills do not require a baccalaureate degree, and demand for these middle-skill STEM workers is distributed nationwide.
When including sub-baccalaureate workers (those with 2-year degrees or occupational licenses or certifications), there may be as many as 26,000,000 jobs in the United States that require STEM competency in at least 1 field. In recent years, the unemployment rate for STEM workers has been approximately half of the unemployment rate of non-STEM workers, and the average annual wage for STEM workers has been substantially higher than that of non-STEM workers. In order for students to be high-performing, the education facilities used by the students must also be high-performing.
Many school facilities required for STEM and career and technical education are inefficient and outdated.