Clay urges NSBE members to seize emerging opportunities
Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay told the members and officers of the Gateway Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers that they have a tremendous opportunity to close America’s emerging brain gap.
Clay, who addressed the group of future engineers and their mentors at Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems Headquarters in St. Louis County, told the students, “We’re facing a crisis in this country – a brain gap that threatens to put America’s national security and economic vitality at risk. And organizations like NSBE have an enormous opportunity to help us fill that gap with talented minority students who pursue careers in engineering and science.”
Clay shared startling statistics with the future engineers that show that while the rest of the world is increasing the percentage of college graduates who earn degrees in engineering, only five percent of U.S. undergraduates receive an engineering degree.
In China, the world’s fastest growing economy, 45 percent of college degrees are awarding in engineering or related fields. At the same time, more than half of all American engineers are over the age of 40, and the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that over the next five years, there will be over three million job openings in engineering, computer science and other technical fields.
“This presents NSBE with a perfect opportunity to not only close the brain gap, but to end the diversity deficit that has allowed minority professionals to be terribly underrepresented in key technical fields like engineering. Minority students are a precious, underutilized natural resource that America can no longer afford to waste,” said Clay.
The National Society of Black Engineers is the largest student-run organization in the USA, with over 12,000 members. NSBE offers innovative mentoring and hands-on educational programs to encourage bright minority students at all age levels to pursue their talents in engineering and other scientific fields. It is currently celebrating its 30th Anniversary Year.
