Race to the top: North Carolina must invest in science and technology education to build a stronger, more capable workforce.

• Position: BUSINESS AND EDUCATION ROUND TABLE

COMPANIES ARE SEEKING WORKERS WHO ARE ADAPTABLE, creative and have the ability to find solutions to challenges in the workplace. Science, technology, engineering and math--better known as STEM--skills help prepare employees for jobs not only in technology-related industries but also in advanced manufacturing, health care and others. Business North Carolina gathered a panel of technology and innovation leaders to discuss the important role of STEM in both K-12 and higher education.

PARTICIPANTS:

Joydeep Ganguly, vice president and general manager, Biogen Inc., Morrisville

Eric Guckian, senior education adviser to Gov. Pat McCrory

John Hardin, executive director, N.C. Department of Commerce Office of Science, Technology & Innovation

Tony Habit, president, North Carolina New Schools, a Raleigh-based education-innovation agency that works with the government and the private sector

Michele Holbrook, plant manager, Corning Inc., optical communications division, Wilmington

Terri Helmlinger Ratcliff, vice provost for outreach and engagement, executive director of Industrial Extension Service, N.C. State University

Richard "Stick" Williams, vice president of corporate community affairs, Duke Energy Corp., and president, The Duke Energy Foundation

Biogen Inc. sponsored the discussion, which was held at its offices in Morrisville. Additional support was provided by Duke Energy Corp., North Carolina New Schools and the N.C. State University Industrial Extension Service. The transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Let's start with the ultimate, big question. Why is STEM education important to North Carolina businesses?

Guckian: From a government standpoint, what we hear pretty consistently from businesses across not only our state, but our country, is that STEM skills are in high demand at all levels of the continuum. Take health care as an example. From the entry-level parts of the organization to the doctors and business side, being able to demonstrate your competency around science, technology, engineering and math is just critical. And we are clearly not meeting the demands that certainly Research Triangle Park and the entire state have in terms of a qualified STEM workforce.

Hardin: If you look at the share of the economy that's composed of high-tech companies, the proportion that those companies represent, while still a minority, is growing over time. And STEM does not simply include people in white lab coats. It's all levels of the workforce: Ph.D., master's, bachelors and associate level. So as the economy becomes more high-tech-oriented, the share of the workforce that needs to be skilled in STEM-related disciplines is increasing.

Habit: I think this is a moment of deep transformation in education because of what's happening globally with science and technology. We've had a series of visitors from China, Thailand, Malaysia and other countries. What we hear from them consistently is it's not just about more majors in STEM disciplines; it's really about rethinking education in total so that the emphasis on creativity and skills is a part of the design. That calls for us to work together in different ways, blending the needs of the private sector, higher education and the K-12 system in a more tight coupling that can measure and advance skills instead of just looking at how were getting that pipeline toward the next doctoral degree or the next engineer.

Williams: When you consider the economy of North Carolina and South Carolina over the years, manufacturing has been a bedrock. But when you go into a manufacturing facility now, it's not your father's manufacturing facility. So the need to have workers that are skilled in working with the machinery and the technology is transforming every sector of the economy. We've got to make certain that we've got a population in this state that has the ability and creativity to adjust and adapt and to make even better processes.

Ganguly: On a macroeconomic level, the STEM jobs are the future. From my perspective at Biogen, the...