Future Texas Tech Jobs Get Scholarship Funding

State officials are doing their part to ensure there are enough workers to fill the tech jobs Texas will have to offer in the future.

Gov. Rick Perry recently announced creation of the STEM Challenge Scholarship, a $100 million initiative through Texas State Technical Colleges to help students pursuing degrees and certificates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields receive the education they need.

The challenge will focus on providing competitive awards to regional partnerships between higher education institutions, school districts and local employers. The ultimate goal of the program is to attract, retain and graduate STEM students.

"Accelerating the number of college students graduating in a high-tech field is essential to maintaining a globally competitive workforce," Perry said. "This scholarship program will encourage higher education institutions to design STEM programs that meet local employer needs, while providing Texas students the opportunity to pursue the education they need as they fulfill their potential."

The State of Texas already has an incentive program that provides $80 million to universities to increase the number of students who graduate, especially those in STEM fields. Perry also has proposed $60 million in additional measures to strengthen STEM education.

Part of that effort would expand the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program to 50 more schools, increasing the number of students taking AP exams and certifying more AP teachers.

Another proposal is to expand the UTeach program, which recruits college students to become math and science teachers, to five additional higher education institutions. That move would create 2,000 jobs for STEM teachers during the next five years.

A final measure would double the number and scope of Texas's T-STEM academies from 46 to 92, which would in turn significantly increase the number of students attending those academies.

"Texas must intensify its efforts to recruit, retain, and graduate students in STEM fields to ensure we stake our claim in the 21st century economy," Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes said. "The governor's STEM Challenge Scholarship will prove to be an invaluable tool for helping Texas achieve its goals for closing the gaps by 2015."