Opinion | Minnesota’s STEM workforce gap begins earlier than we think

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Minnesota’s economy is evolving faster than many families may realize. Here in the Twin Cities, our workforce already leans heavily on fields that require strong technical and analytical skills. Minnesota ranks 13th nationally for its share of the workforce in tech jobs.

Yet these sectors, critical to our state’s competitiveness, face a widening talent gap. Employers across Minnesota report persistent shortages in nearly every tech-related occupation, with unemployment in tech hovering around just 1.7%. And over the next five years, Minnesota expects 39,000 new tech job openings, many due to retirements and migration, not just growth.

This is the future our preschoolers will inherit.

But the data also reveals possibility. A recent study found that taking just one high school computer science course increases a student’s earnings by at least 8% by age 24, with even larger gains among low-income students, Black students and young women. These findings mirror what we as early childhood educators see daily: When children engage with foundational science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts early, they carry that confidence forward.

And yet Minnesota ranks last in the nation in access to foundational computer science education. If we want our children to thrive in the industries reshaping our state, we must begin far earlier — long before they enter a middle school lab.

Between ages 3 and 5, children develop the foundational skills that STEM fields depend on — problem-solving, spatial reasoning, persistence, collaboration and inquiry-based thinking. These skills do not emerge in middle school; they begin in early childhood through guided play, exploration and intentional STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activities.

In our preschool classrooms at the Gardner School of Lake Elmo- Woodbury, these skills show up in everyday learning. Each time students build a ramp for toy cars in our STEAM lab, and they test different solutions, that’s early engineering: observing, hypothesizing, iterating.

Research from Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child shows that these early cognitive experiences directly strengthen executive function, a predictor of long-term success in STEM pathways.

Here in Washington County, we have an advantage many communities lack. Nearly 40% of residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to about 32% statewide. And the Twin Cities’ innovation economy — driven by AI, cloud computing, biomedical research and advanced manufacturing — contributes $31 billion to the region annually.

Across Minnesota — most visibly in the Minneapolis metro, where employers spend more than $1 billion a year on temporary help services — demand continues to outpace supply. Talent shortages are not hypothetical; they are undermining growth today.

Preparing children for future careers isn’t about early specialization. It’s about ensuring that all children, regardless of background, have access to experiences that spark curiosity and build problem-solving capacity.

That requires:

Parents sometimes tell me, “But my child is only 3.” My response is always the same: "Exactly." Curiosity is highest now. Neural pathways form now. Confidence grows now. Early exposure shapes whether children see themselves as capable in STEM later on, especially when formal computer science opportunities often do not appear until high school.

If we want Minnesota to remain competitive — not just regionally, but nationally — we cannot wait until high school to deliver STEM curriculum.

The state’s next generation of technologists, engineers, scientists and innovators is already here. They are in our preschool classrooms. And they are ready, if we are willing to invest in their success.