Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal: Market Watch
24/7 Wall St.

One in every five jobs in the United States required a high level of knowledge in science, technology, engineering or math as of 2011. Since the industrial revolution, the share of these kinds of jobs in the U.S. workforce has roughly doubled.

This week the Brookings Institution released “The Hidden STEM Economy,” a report that reviews the concentration of jobs that require knowledge in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) by metropolitan area. These jobs are often found in health care, computers and manufacturing. Based on a review of the proportion of workers in STEM jobs in the 100 largest metropolitan areas, these are the U.S. metro areas with the most high-tech jobs.

10. Dayton, OH
9. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI
8. Baltimore-Townson, MD
7. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
6. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA
5. Madison, WI
4. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
3. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, VA
1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

Madison is home to the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin, one of the largest research institutions in the United States. Associated with it is the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, which employs approximately 10,000 individuals. The largest private employer in the Madison area is Epic Systems, a health care software company, which employs about 6,200 people locally. Overall, nine of the 100 largest employers in the Madison area are biotechnology companies. The average wage of a Madison STEM worker in 2011 was $67,359, while the average wage of a non-STEM worker was just $38,913.

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Excerpted from Wisconsin State Journal

“I am going to major in agriculture.”

If you heard that comment at a high school graduation party 10 years ago, you would probably have reacted with stunned silence or a quizzical look.

But if you react that way this high school graduation season, you are behind the times. Careers in agribusiness have become a hot topic with growing appeal to young people.

That’s a trend Wisconsin should encourage. Bringing more bright young minds into agriculture bodes well for tapping the rich resources of America’s Dairyland to create jobs and income.

A prime example of the blooming interest in agricultural careers is this week’s annual convention of the Wisconsin FFA, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America. The FFA convention begins today in Madison with membership in Wisconsin at a 28-year high, totaling 19,000 students.

The trend is also evident at UW-Madison. Enrollment in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is up 33 percent in the past decade.

The number of full-time farmers is still declining. But for some students farming may be more attractive than ever, with incomes and challenges both up dramatically.

Even more students are recognizing the expanding opportunities in off-the-farm agribusiness. Genetic engineering, computer technology, an energy revolution, value-added product innovations, health and environmental concerns – all are transforming agriculture and opening career paths.

Today’s agriculture needs brainpower. Young people are recognizing the opportunities. Wisconsin should recognize its stake in supporting agricultural education through FFA, UW-Madison and other institutions.

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Excerpted from Forbes
By Dan Reich

It may seem as if entrepreneurship and venture capital are exclusively tied to the east and west coasts. In many cases this is true. A recent report derived by SSTI from PricewaterhouseCoopers Moneytree Survey Data shows that California attracted 53% of all venture capital dollars in 2012 in the United States followed by Maryland and New York City with a combined 19% of  VC investment dollars.

For recent graduates pursuing a career associated with the world of startup life, it may seem as if the coasts are the only places to go to start or join a new business.

There are, however, accelerator programs that are trying to change that. One program that I’m intimately familiar with, given my ties to UW-Madison, is called gener8tor and it is launching its third class of startup companies. The program is based in Madison, Wisconsin and is drawing companies from Austin, Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, and the Twin cities.

Jon Eckhardt, co-founder of the program sees a big opportunity to create a more meaningful environment for aspiring entrepreneurs in the Midwest.

“gener8tor’s is tightly integrated into the entrepreneurship communities in the mid-west and the coasts, especially as a result of our work with nearby academic institutions” Eckhardt said. “This, combined with our innovative training platform, lets us link the capabilities of the mid-west with resources nationally.”

And it’s starting to work. According to Troy Vosseller, a co-founder of the program, its 13 companies have raised more than $5 million in capital and created 70 jobs. “The growth is only accelerating and this summer the program saw over 250 applications from around the country and from around the world,” said Vosseller. Other VC firms are starting to notice. One of which is Great Oaks Capital, a VC firm who’s founding team spent time studying at UW-Madison.

John Philosophos, Partner at Great Oaks Venture Capital put it this way. “We see big opportunities brewing in the Wisconsin ecosystem.  The entrepreneurial community is growing and producing high quality start-ups. Critical resources, including top flight developers from the UW Computer Science program and College of Engineering, mentorship from the State’s broad based economy and forward thinking corporations are all being mobilized to support innovation in the State.  Accordingly, we have made Wisconsin one of our national areas of focus.”

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Excerpted from Janesville Gazette
By Gazette Staff

Blackhawk Technical College is looking for more than a few good men and women who want to become industrial mechanics.

The college has received a federal grant in the amount of $584,831 to expand its industrial mechanics program, if it can find enough students.

BTC is one of 16 state technical colleges sharing a $14.9 million Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant for a four-year project to develop, expand and improve career chances in advanced manufacturing. Schools in the program are required to monitor how successful their students are in getting jobs in manufacturing.

Those interested in applying for the expanded industrial mechanic program should call project manager Julie Barreau at 608-757-7648.

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Excerpted from Janesville Gazette
By Gina Duwe

More than 20,000 tons of raw steel pass through the Kuhn North America plant each year, leaving as large pieces of farm equipment.

Fifteen-ton cranes help move the material around the plant tucked on the west side of Brodhead. Workers crank out implements, including TMR mixers and manure spreaders and a variety of hay tools. Implements are the equipment that attach to a tractor.

Kuhn North America and its parent company, Kuhn, build “hundreds and hundreds of different models,” said Thierry Krier, president and CEO of Kuhn North America.

While many of the products stay in the Midwest, shipments leave every day for export outside of North America. More than 10 percent of the facility’s products are exported.

Last year, the company’s worldwide sales exceeded $1.3 billion for the first time, he said.

The company has a goal of trying to grow the business by 10 percent a year, which he admits is a big number. Brodhead is in the process of adding 20 manufacturing positions to help meet demand, he said.

It’s the latest in a decade of growth in Brodhead.

The business is formerly known as Knight Manufacturing, which Kuhn bought in December 2002. Knight was a second-generation business with no succession, and Kuhn came in as a “strategic buyer … for the products, for the location, for the infrastructure and most importantly, for the people to take us to the next step,” Krier said.

Since the purchase, Kuhn North America has invested more than $30 million in tools and four major expansions, including the latest in 2012. Each expansion has added 50,000 to 80,000 square feet, along with the tools needed to fill the space. It also has increased the workforce from 230 to more than 500 over the last decade.

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