Ohio also ranked 39th among the states and the District of Columbia in the percent of people 25 or older who held a four-year degree in 2009, the newly released data show.
In all, just under 577,000 of 1.9 million Ohioans with bachelor’s degrees studied science and engineering — areas important for the types of jobs expected to grow in and around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Only 15 states had lower estimates, but margins of error make rankings approximate. Ohio could have been as high as 26th in the nation among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, or as low as 44th.
At the top of the science and engineering list was the District of Columbia with almost 48 percent of people ages 25 and older holding bachelor’s degrees in those fields. The district was followed by Maryland, California, Washington, Massachusetts and Virginia — states known for high technology and defense-related businesses, as well as proximity to the federal government.
Ohio also lagged significantly behind neighboring Pennsylvania and Illinois, which had estimated percentages of 33.9 percent and 33.2 percent, respectively.
“Ohio is an under-producer right now,” said Tom Lasley, executive director of EDvention, which advocates for increasing science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM education. “Our goal is to ramp up the number of advanced degrees.”
A 2006 survey of more than 2,000 companies by the Wright State University Center for Urban and Public Affairs found 21,000 private sector jobs that went unfilled, in part because workers with the right skills were not available.
Valerie Scarfpin, manager of recruiting and diversity for Dayton Power & Light Co., said the company is actively recruiting accounting, finance and engineering majors.
“We just cannot find enough electrical engineers right now,’’ Scarfpin said.
Sen. Sherrod Brown has sponsored a bill that would provide grants for training in fields where there is a shortage of skilled workers. The state university system has created “Centers of Excellence” in different fields at schools across the state in hopes of attracting young talent.
“We need to look at the workforce needs and create education opportunities, including internships, that match up with them,” said Lasley. “There are STEM jobs available.”
Still, many college graduates continue to leave Ohio for other states. The Ohio Board of Regents, which oversees the state university system, found that more than 2,000 degree holders flee the state each year.
Locally, the census estimates for larger counties in the Dayton region show that one-third of all degrees are in science and engineering. Greene County, home to Wright-Patterson, had the highest estimated percentage, with 36.4 percent or more than 12,000 people holding degrees in the science and engineering fields. But margins of error for the counties made comparative rankings statistically insignificant.
Contact this reporter at kmccall@DaytonDailyNews.com or (937) 225-2393. Staff writer Randy Tucker contributed to this story.
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