Finding STEM candidates problematic for North American employers

Finding job candidates to fill STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) employment opportunities has been a struggle for employers in North America. The dearth of STEM workers in this region forces companies to search globally for qualified candidates. Can and will this trend change? Time will tell, but for now, the search for STEM candidates is a challenge for North American employers.

Leading up to the Graduate Employment Conference Europe (GEC Europe), College Recruiter is publishing the opinions of experts based on a series of questions related to global recruitment and talent acquisition. In today’s article, Alexandra LaCombe, Managing Partner and Attorney at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen and Loewy, explains what a scarcity of STEM candidates means for North American employers.

Alexandra LaCombe, Managing Partner and Attorney at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen and Loewy

“Because there are not enough job candidates here in the U.S. with skills and degrees in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, U.S. corporations look elsewhere, particularly overseas, to fill these high paying vacant jobs. There simply are not enough qualified American-born candidates to fill available positions. These massive vacancies hurt U.S. corporations and, thus, hurt our economy.”

Alexandra LaCombe is a Managing Partner and Attorney at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen and Loewy in Troy. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law, teaching Immigration Law within the University’s innovative “Law Firm” practice curriculum.