STEM Career Awareness for Younger Students Enables Academic and Workforce Success

There is a concerning trend occurring where we have students graduating either not interested in or not prepared for the jobs where we have the most availability. Additionally, when learning most academic concepts, students often ask, 'When am I going to need this in real life?’ Career connected learning in the middle grades provides several benefits to reduce the workforce gap while providing a more engaging learning journey for students.

The workforce gap will only continue to widen if we don’t engage students in career connected learning earlier in their academic journey. This gap in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is especially concerning. Occupations in STEM, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, are expected to grow 10.4% by 2033, compared with 4% for all occupations. Not only are these in-demand jobs, the median annual wage for STEM occupations in 2023 was $101,650 in comparison to non-STEM occupations at $46,680. In order to fill the need for these high-wage, in-demand jobs, early STEM intervention and career awareness for students in the middle grades are necessary.

Research shows that a lack of awareness is the primary reason students don’t pursue STEM careers. In this Emerson survey, it was reported that 42% of adults would have considered a STEM career if they had better understood the opportunities available. Additionally, students are asking to be exposed more to career possibilities. In the May 2022 report, Question the Quo, by the ECMC Group, a majority (63%) of teens said they wished they were provided more information about the variety of postsecondary opportunities available.

With career interests and aspirations forming as early as age 10, the middle grades are the ideal time to start making connections between students’ academic work and their future career paths. Educators can inspire students to explore and learn about critical industries while paving the way for the workforce of tomorrow by introducing students to STEM careers and sparking interest in essential industries like manufacturing, programming, and engineering. To address this workforce gap, career connected instructional materials, such as those provided by Learning Blade – a free resource for schools in Florida, introduce young students to careers and technologies sparking interest in essential industries.

Connecting students to relevant topics, such as artificial intelligence, coding, and in-demand career fields, keeps them engaged in learning while tying back to academic standards. According to the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), students who engage in career exploration are more likely to understand the relevance of their coursework. Career connected learning provides students an understanding of how academics connect to real-world careers which can improve academic motivation. By providing this academic relevance students are less likely to drop out and more likely to engage in their academic journey.

Learning Blade partnered with Battelle to conduct research on students (grades 5-9) using the mission-based career exploration learning platform and it revealed:

• 84% of students were more likely to want a job involving designing or construction​
• 56% increase in students interested in taking advanced math courses in high school
• 59% said they were more likely to pursue a career in STEM

Early STEM intervention has many benefits beyond broadening career awareness. It supports employability skills development, such as fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and adaptability. These transferable skills are increasingly a competitive advantage for students. “[Those] who develop and increase their human, or ‘soft’, skills could see their income grow twice as fast due to the rising need for capabilities such as customer service, digital literacy and time management,” according to a 2019 study by Deloitte Access Economics and DeakinCo.- Premium Skills.

Connecting students in the middle grades (5-9) can help spark student interest in in-demand, high-wage careers, provide academic relevance, and promote the development of employability skills. Learning Blade is a resource that can help! Get access to your free account today at LearningBlade.com/FL

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About the Author: Simone Smith is the Florida State Manager for Learning Blade. She has been working in education for over 15 years and had the privilege of working as an Elementary and Middle school teacher. Simone really enjoyed the middle school years and during that time, she was also a lead facilitator for the Microtechnology ESOL program at the University of Central Florida. Simone has taught all subjects, and she has a love for STEM and Career Exploration. After her time in the classroom Simone worked as District Instructional and Behavior coach, in this role she supported educators with the Conditions for Learning in the classroom. Simone has now been in Educational Technology for over 3 years supporting educators and their work all over the state of Florida. For more information, contact Simone at simone@learningblade.com or by visiting their website at www.LearningBlade.com/FL