Authority President Weighs In On Engineering and Science Shortage

Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008

The following is an excerpt from Arkansas Business

Wanted: Engineers, Architects as Interest Wanes, Boomers Retire
By Jamie Walden
7/14/2008

(Click here to see a graph depicting Arkansas graduation trends in architecture and engineering.)

Interest in obtaining architecture and engineering degrees from Arkansas colleges is stagnant and has shrunk in some specialties, such as computer engineering, by as much as 49 percent during the last several years.

This lack of interest coupled with a retirement rate exceeding the graduation rate has caused a shortage of architects and engineers in Arkansas.

Science and technology careers consistently score low on career interest tests, said John Ahlen, president of the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority.

"There is a shortage of people going into engineering and the sciences." Ahlen said that the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, of which he is a member, considers the shortage "an ongoing problem."

"I think what you're dealing with is a national problem, and it may even be an international problem," Ahlen said.

To read the full article, click here.