Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, are becoming increasingly important fields when it comes to today's economy. San Antonio's economy serves as an example with military and tourism now sharing the stage with engineering and manufacturing.
"Sixty percent of our jobs in San Antonio for the next twenty years that will be created will require science, technology, engineering, and math," said Ramiro Cavazos, president and CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
According to Cavazos, they are fields that already have open jobs but need more qualified candidates.
"Right now to get a job at Rackspace, Toyota, or Boeing requires a specific skill set," said Cavazos.
The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce wants those high-paying jobs to eventually be filled by San Antonio's youth, specifically inner-city youth. That is the motivation behind the chambers' CORE4 STEM Expo, which has been held annually for the last four years.
It was announced Wednesday that the expo would once again be taking place in November. The expo brings together 3,500 middle school students from five inner-city school districts and introduces them to the STEM subjects.
"We bring in speakers like Bob Ballard who discovered the Titanic and Dr. Bernard Harris, the first African-American astronaut," said Cavazos.
The announcement was made at Toyota, one of the sponsors of the CORE4 STEM Expo, and example of a STEM employer. Rep. Joaquin Castro was also named honorary chair.
"We need to get to the point where more of our students are going into the STEM fields, where we're attracting more STEM employers like Toyota," said Castro.
The CORE4 STEM Expo has already produced success stories, as over 30 students from the program are now interns Toyota and may soon have jobs.
The expo runs Nov. 15-19 at several San Antonio locations.