STEM professionals

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report has been anticipating disruptive changes in business models since its 2016 edition, with their associated impact on jobs in the coming years.

 More than 85% of organisations surveyed in the 2023 report External link, opens in new window. identified increased adoption of new, cutting-edge technologies and expanded digital access as the trends most likely to drive transformation in their businesses.

This digital transformation scenario does not necessarily imply a net loss of jobs, but it does require significant upskilling or reskilling  to meet the new needs. Many of these new skills are in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). 

Thus, students trained in STEM subjects will be in the best positions. Aside from technology companies, sectors such as banking, healthcare and energy will need to add talent to their workforce that can focus on data analysis, innovation and cybersecurity in an increasingly global and digital economy.

 SEE INFOGRAPHIC: STEM Education: the careers with the greatest demand and future [PDF]

Employment growth does not increase STEM education

At present, there are already more than nine million workers in the US engaged in jobs linked to technology, engineering and science, accounting for more than 6 % of the country's workforce. Employment in these sectors has grown much more rapidly in the last decade compared to all other professional branches: 24.4 % versus 4.0 % for non-STEM employment, according to figures from the US Department of Commerce. The trend will continue in the coming years, up 11 % in the 2020s according to the US statistics instituteEnlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. , with the creation of new professions which do not yet exist or are beginning to be shaped now: drones pilot, talent aggregator or financial technologist are just a few examples.

However, the increase of professionals with degrees in STEM subjects is moving at a slower pace than the actual demand required by US companies. In Europe, the deficit in talent is even more palpable. It is estimated that the call for engineers and mathematicians will increase by 14 % by the end of the decade, and companies will have difficulty covering all of these vacancies.

This is the case in the UK, where an IETEnlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva.  (Institution of Engineering and Technology) report indicates that there is a shortage of 173,000 workers, almost 10 % of the expected jobs are not filled. In addition, the number of students accepted into engineering and technology industry careers has not increased. As a result, the UK government itself has created a plan to try to reach 200,000 trained people by 2030. 

Reports, such as the one published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, warn that the shortage of skilled professionals will be felt most keenly in the fields of technology and green economy. The main companies in these sectors are therefore involved in promoting scientific and technological research, and in encouraging young people to take an interest in STEM careers.

These actions are necessary in order to refocus talent towards business demand. Those scholarships and programs which promote equal opportunities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics are helping to instigate a young, quality workforce, which will benefit professionals, companies and society in general. Iberdrola Mexico is working on the Impulso STEMEnlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva.  programme to promote the study of engineering amoung young people in Oaxaca. 

Efforts are also currently being made to encourage women to enter STEM careers. To this end, Iberdrola has created the Sustainable Mobility STEM Women ChairEnlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. , which seeks to investigate the reasons for the low participation in studies related to scientific and techonological issues.