National Research Council. "I. Introduction." Securing the Future: Regional and National Programs to Support the Semiconductor Industry. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2003. 1. Print.
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FIGURE 10 Number of First University Degrees in Engineering, 1997.
*Long Degree programs
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, Science & Engineering Indicators 2000.
as a region produces more engineers per year than the United States by almost a factor of six. The European Union produces more than double the U.S. output of engineers.76
In terms of the percentage of bachelor’s degrees awarded each year in engineering (out of the total number of bachelor’s degrees in the U.S.) compared to equivalent degrees and 4 to 6-year programs in other nations, the U.S. lags far behind (see Figure 11).77 Almost half—roughly 46 percent—of all bachelor’s
is indeed some evidence of tightness in labour markets for particular categories of IT workers,” and further suggests that “the main issue of concern for policy makers and firms should be the gap be-tween the skills of current and future IT workers and those sought by firms.” For the details of this analysis see Vladimir Lopez-Bassols, “ICT Skills and Employment,” STI Working Papers. Director-ate for Science, Technology, and Industry, OECD, DSTI/DOC (2002) 10, July 17, 2002. See also National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Science and EngineeringDegrees: 1966-2000. NSF 02-327, Author, Susan T. Hill (Arlington, Va 2002) <http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf02327/pdf/nsf02327.pdf>.
76
For further discussion of the implications of these statistics see comments by Mary L. Good, President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in “Scientist’s Call to Action S.F. conference opens with plea for Cabinet position,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 16, 2001
77
Countries have different time periods for first-degree programs (i.e., first university degrees are not always academically equivalent). In European nations, for example, short degree programs are three years long, while long degree programs are 4 to 6 years long. In the analysis here, we use the long degree programs as our basis of comparison.
