Expats outdo GCC students in STEM skills

Manama : Think about key skills needed in today’s workplace: problem solving, analytical thinking and the ability to work independently. What do they all have in common? They’re all related to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).

GCC students give lesser importance to STEM skills to find a job as compared to their expat contemporaries, a new research has found.        

The study shows that while GCC parents are more educated their children tend to believe they do not need science, technology, engineering and math skills to get a job in future. 

‘Wasta’ or family connections is considered more important in local families than attaining skills in finding jobs after a student gets graduated, the study published in the Digest of Middle East Studies said. 

“According to the data, pupils in the Gulf tend to link STEM education with future job prospects “the least” when both parents are Gulf nationals, and “the most” when both parents are expats or non-nationals,” said Dr Alexander Wiseman, of Lehigh University in the US, who co-authored the study with researchers from University of Dammam and King Saud University in Saudi Arabia.

“Across the GCC, non-nationals who have neither parent born in the country have the highest reported mean expectations that they will get a job using science or math,” he said.

Dr Wiseman’s research revealed that expatriate pupils outperformed locals in science and exceeded the international average score by 41 points.

According to Dr S Misra, professor at AMA International University, reflections of the research in elementary and higher-education institutions of Bahrain say well-to-do local students often feel entitled to a job in their nation and prefer taking up subjects such as English, business studies rather than technical ones. On the other hand, expat students tend to find a job in every sector as they focus more on STEM skills. 

 “While there are exceptions to the case, there is a strong need to create awareness among students to enhance their STEM skills as these form the foundation for other skills. Our university is working on a project called ‘Teaching Tactics’ that not only creates awareness but also works towards making math and science more interesting,” Dr Misra said.

Professor Odeh Al-Jayyousi, Head of Innovation and Technology Management at the Arabian Gulf University, said that the phenomenon was also a result of cultural differences and traditions. 

He said that generally the research would hold true, but it would be important to understand that expats looked out for long-term sustainability in their careers and traditionally opted for STEM subjects. This is not just limited to the Gulf but a world-wide paradigm which is on the rise. 

“We as educators must encourage students to pursue what their heart desires rather than limiting them to a certain branch. After all, innovation and enlightenment are acquired from a merger of technical, artistic and philosophical skills,” said Al-Jayyousi.

The study used statistics to evaluate the STEM skills of students in more than 60 countries and then segregated the data according to nationality for comparisons between local and expatriate students in the GCC.