Fed gov’t investing to encourage youth to pursue careers in technology, science

In an effort to bolster Canada’s weakening manufacturing sector, the federal government is investing almost $2 million to encourage youth to pursue careers in science and technology.

The $1.7 million investment will go to the not-for-profit Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, which the government says will encourage young people to pursue studies in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), through its BrainSTEM outreach program.

“By introducing students to the STEM fields at this critical point in their education, we are encouraging the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and problem solvers, and helping to drive innovation in southern Ontario for years to come,” Kitchener-Waterloo MP Peter Braid said in a statement. “This is how we will establish competitive businesses, and create the high-value jobs of the future and long-term prosperity for the region.”

Located in Waterloo, Ont., the institute’s youth outreach activities include a monthly public lecture series, a summer camp, a series of in-class resources, professional development workshops for science teachers and science festivals.

It says the new content and outreach will focus on showing the benefits of the STEM areas as these fields relate to the future careers and entrepreneurship possibilities for young people.

In September, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) released a paper calling for a national education strategy in the U.S. to combat what it called a “serious shortage” of people educated in STEM fields.