College students and job seekers around the world have gaps in their understanding about how and where they can access professional credentials to move into STEM fields.
After 14,000 interviews in 13 countries, a new study from Morning Consult and IBM reveals that students and job seekers are concerned they have no path to STEM-related work.
Misconceptions around STEM training include it’s too expensive, learners don’t know where to start, and don’t know enough about acquiring digital credentials:
- 61% of respondents believe they are not qualified for a STEM job because they don’t have the right academic degrees.
- 40% of students say the greatest barrier to professional and technical skill development is they don’t know where to start.
- 60% of respondents worry that digital credentials may be costly to obtain.
- Being able to continue to work while earning a credential is particularly important to career changers.
Learners and workers are planning on making a change with 60% of respondents looking for a new job in the next 12 months. More than 80% of respondents have plans to build their skills in the next two years. And 90% are confident they can develop skills or learn something from an online program.
Many respondents were unsure of careers that are considered STEM jobs. While 50% of respondents are interested in pursuing a STEM job, 64% of career changers aren’t familiar with STEM jobs at all.
Still, there is a great deal of optimism that roles in STEM fields across sectors will continue to increase and 75% believe that digital credentials are a good way to supplement traditional education. 86% of respondents who earned a digital credential agree that it helped them achieve their career goals.
Adding Digital Credentials to Traditional Education
IBM SkillsBuild is a free education program designed to help underrepresented communities in technology. These courses help adult learning, and high school and university students and faculty develop valuable new skills and access career opportunities. In conjunction with global partners around the world, the IBM SkillsBuild platform offers 1,000 technology courses in 19 languages on cybersecurity, data analysis, cloud computing and many other technology areas for free.
As colleges and universities search for ways to support students as they journey from school to career, adding digital certifications will help more students fill the gap between academics and the workforce. Increased career opportunities and qualifications were the top reason why respondents across the globe said they wanted to earn digital credentials.