API’s Sommers, Other CEOs Tout STEM in Building Workforce of the Future
Mark Green
Posted December 10, 2021
Developing STEM skills at all education levels is a top priority for the natural gas and oil industry as it plans for future generations of workers by supporting instruction in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. At the same time, STEM education helps advance another top industry priority – strengthening its workforce through further diversification and by fostering equity and inclusion.
API President and CEO Mike Sommers emphasized those messages during an executive roundtable discussion, “STEM Workforce Development Through an Equity Lens,” organized this week by Discovery Education and the STEM Careers Coalition.
Sommers said America’s natural gas and oil industry supports 11 million jobs – non-retail, direct industry jobs – and pays 80% more than the average job in the U.S.:
“The work we do is digitized, and we are constantly on the lookout for [skilled STEM workers]. Our industry also works on one of the greatest scientific challenges: addressing climate change. We won’t be able to meet this challenge without ensuring the future workforce pipeline starts early.”
According to the coalition, which includes API and industry sectors such as energy, manufacturing, aerospace, technology, engineering, consumer packaged goods and pharmaceuticals/health, just 15% of engineers are female. Across all STEM disciplines of workers, just 9% are African American and 8% are Hispanic. To help change those statistics, API through the coalition directly sponsors STEM education resources at 75 schools around the country, supporting about 6,300 students and nearly 1,000 teachers.
The goal is helping more women and people of color pursue fulfilling, well-paying careers in the natural gas and oil industry. At the same time, Sommers said API partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions are promoting diversity, equity and inclusion by providing those students free access to API’s world-class standards library, introducing them to practical knowledge that is immediately applicable to their future careers.
Research indicates that 1.9 million job opportunities will be available in the natural gas, oil and petrochemical industries over the next 20 years, and about 50% of them are expected to be filled by African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and people who identify as non-white.
This week’s virtual executive roundtable attracted an audience of corporate social impact leaders and K12 educators from across the country. Joining Sommers for the discussion were Alejandra Ceja of Panasonic, Tom Costabile of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Michael Hyter of The Executive Leadership Council, Broderick Johnson of Comcast, Carolyn Lee of The Manufacturing Institute, Jim Loree of Stanley Black & Decker and James Momon, of 3M. The panel was moderated by Discovery Education’s Amy Nakamoto and Dr. Luvelle Brown, Ithaca City Schools in New York.
Discovery Education is the worldwide education technology leader whose digital platforms support 4.5 million educators and 45 million students. API has been an anchor partner of Discovery’s STEM Careers Coalition since November 2019.
About The Author
Mark Green joined API after a career in newspaper journalism, including 16 years as national editorial writer for The Oklahoman in the paper’s Washington bureau. Previously, Mark was a reporter, copy editor and sports editor at an assortment of newspapers. He earned his journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University. He and his wife Pamela have two grown children and six grandchildren.