In Southern Maryland, specifically central St. Mary’s and parts of Charles counties, lack of sufficiently trained staff is forcing some engineering and high tech companies to be creative in their search for qualified employees. The education systems in Southern Maryland have begun addressing this lack of qualified Science, Technology, Engineering and Math graduates, but the results of that STEM education effort are years from being realized by companies that need qualified candidates now.

Ed Gordon, author of The 2020 Meltdown: Solving the Impending Jobs Crisis, the author wrote that the current labor pool is ‘out of whack’ with the labor marketplace and states that the forthcoming IT workforce shortage is a legitimate worry for the United States.

Millions of Americans who are unemployed do not have the right talent for the jobs that need to be filled, with many people earning college degrees that are not translating into decent employment. There now are four million jobs empty, Gordon said, and half of them are highly skilled positions that require specialized technology training and education.

With that in mind, Gordon believes society is divided into three groups: Smart people with right talent who keep their skills up to date; Younger people who have been steered away from technology fields; and imported workers.

Looking forward, the real problem begins in 2010, when 60 million ‘Baby Boomers’ are set to begin their exodus from the workforce.

In St. Mary’s County, a concerted effort is underway to address the workforce shortage. While schools embark on concentrated STEM education programs, the Department of Economic and Community Development, headed by Director, Bob Schaller, Ph.D., has begun working on programs designed to attract new workers to our area to cover the current shortfall in qualified workers.

According to Schaller, “The problem is how to link employment opportunities with what we as a community have to offer.” He went on to say that most people outside of our area do not even know where Southern Maryland is. “A lot of people think Southern Maryland is on the Eastern Shore, not tucked below Washington and Baltimore.”

Schaller also said that most potential employees coming into St. Mary’s for interviews are stuck on the Rt. 235 corridor and never venture beyond to see what the county has to offer. He admitted that even though he was born and raised here, “There are places I have never been.”

With next year being the 375th anniversary of St. Mary’s County and subsequently, the 375th anniversary of Maryland, there are hopes that the activities and exposure created by the St. Mary’s County Tourism Department, managed by Carolyn Laray will go along way toward expanding people’s general knowledge about the benefits of living in Southern Maryland and St. Mary’s County.

Schaller and Laray both concur that if people begin to understand what St. Mary’s has to offer over and above employment, perhaps the area will be able to attract more qualified workers willing to relocate, live, work and raise families here.