Spring/Summer 2010
California faces a science and technology workforce crisis and MESA provides a solution for the state's workforce needs.
The state needs science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals to drive the economy, but faces a projected shortage of 40,000 engineers by 2014. 1
Several factors contribute to this workforce problem. California confers fewer bachelor's degrees than other "new economy" states. In 2005, California conferred 6.9 natural science and engineering degrees per 1,000 among 18-24 year olds, compared to 12.2 in Massachusetts and 11.1 in Maryland and Colorado. 2
College readiness and overall graduation rates in California, as well as the large number of baby boomers who are retiring, also add to the workforce vacuum.
California's college going rates are low. Among the 20 most populous states, California ranks 19th in the percentage of high school graduates who go on directly to a four-year college or university. 3 California ranks 45 among all states in high school students taking advanced math and science courses. 4
MESA students can help fill the technical workforce need because they graduate with badly needed STEM degrees. Sixty percent of MESA's pre-college students who go on to college become majors in STEM fields, despite attending high schools ranked among the lowest-performing in the state. Of MESA's community college students who go on to four-year institutions, 100 percent transfer as STEM majors. These students become the scientists, engineers and mathematicians that industry needs to stay competitive.
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