The United States has a longstanding trend of underinvesting in education R&D and the development of a STEM workforce that can effectively be deployed to solve today’s challenges. This threatens America’s national security and competitiveness, and hampers our ability to lead across myriad economic sectors.
FAS envisions a future where all learners and workers can access pathways to the STEM workforce and are prepared to rise to the challenges of the future, allowing the United States to lead across myriad economic sectors and bolster its national security. We advocate for innovative and evidence-based approaches to education and workforce pathways to help realize that future.
To maximize the potential of apprenticeship programs, the federal government should develop a cohesive approach to supporting “apprenticeships of the future,” such as those in cyber, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.
Without a robust education system that prepares our youth for future careers in key sectors, our national security and competitiveness are at risk.
The education R&D ecosystem must be a learning-oriented network committed to the principles of innovation that the system itself strives to promote across best practices in education and learning.
Across the country in small towns and large cities, rural communities and the suburbs, millions of young people are missing school at astounding rates.