THAT’S WHAT’S ON THE LINE AS FEDERAL MONEY COMES TO NEBRASKA. THANKS FOR JOINING US ON ROB MCCARTNEY. THAT FEDERAL MONEY WOULD GO TO FIX WHAT’S BEEN CALLED A LEAKY STEM PIPELINE BY YOU ALL HOPES THE NEW INITIATIVE COULD BE THE KEY TO FILLING THE STATE’S LABOR SHORTAGE. KETV NEWSWATCH 7 SHAWN MCKINNON SPOKE WITH THE UNIVERSITY ABOUT HOW IT WORKS, AND SHAWN JOINS US LIVE TONIGHT. EXPERTS SAY NEBRASKA DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TRAINED IN THE STEM FIELD. THAT LEAVES BUSINESS AS WITHOUT THE EMPLOYEES THEY NEED. UNO IS INVESTING IN STEM EDUCATION. THEY HOPE IN THE LONG RUN THAT WILL CHANGE THINGS. YOU KNOW, HOPES ITS APPROACH THAT EDUCATION COULD KEEP FUTURE GENERATIONS IN NEBRASKA. WE THINK IT’S PRETTY HUGE. THE ONE STEM INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH IS GETTING $2 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING. UNO PROJECTS THAT IN THE FUTURE THERE WILL BE 48,000 UNFILLED STEM JOBS IN NEBRASKA. PHYSICS PROFESSOR CHRIS MOORE SAYS FOR STEM BUSINESSES TO DO WELL IN THE STATE, THEY NEED PEOPLE WITH THE RIGHT TRAINING. THE ISSUE THAT WE FACE IS THAT WE NEED MORE STEM TRAINED WORKERS IN THE AREA IN ORDER TO SUPPORT IT. YOU, I KNOW, WANTS TO GET KIDS INTERESTED IN STEM AT A YOUNG AGE. LIKE I ADDED STEM SUMMER CAMP. PART OF WHAT THIS IS IS JUST STARTING AT A YOUNG AGE SO THAT WE CAN GET THOSE FOLKS TRAPPED AND INTO THE STEM WORKFORCE THAT WE NEED HERE IN NEBRASKA. THEY’RE UPGRADING THE TECHNOLOGY ON THE CAMPUS PLANETARIUM AND BUILDING NEW FACILITIES SET TO OPEN NEXT YEAR. THIS IS REALLY FOCUSED ON THE BRASSICA STUDENTS TAKING THOSE NEBRASKA STUDENTS AND TURNING THEM INTO NEBRASKA WORKFORCE SO THAT WE’RE NOT LOSING OUR TOP STUDENTS TO OTHER STATES IN THE AREA. CONGRESSMAN DON BACON SECURED THE FUNDING. HE SAYS NEBRASKA IS MISSING. BOTH PEOPLE TRAINED IN STEM AND THE TRADES. WE ARE WOEFULLY SHORT OF ELECTRICIANS, PLUMBERS, WELDERS, THOSE THINGS THAT BUILD AMERICA. WE’RE UNDER PRODUCING THERE, TOO. WE NEED TO HAVE AT THE LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL WORKING TOGETHER TO PRODUCE MORE STEM GRADUATES AND MORE TRADES GRADUATES AS WELL. POSSIBLE ISSUE. IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN SIGNING YOUR CHILD UP FOR THE UNO STEM SUMMER CAMP, IT’S CALLED AIM FOR THE STARS. I’VE GOT A LINK TO I