Security Industry Association Joins the Coalition’s Leadership Council

The STEM Education Coalition is pleased to welcome the Security Industry Association as our newest member of the Coalition’s Leadership Council!

The Security Industry Association (SIA) 900 members include large companies such as Siemens and Johnson Controls as well as hundreds of smaller businesses that provide surveillance, threat assessment and security related services.  Basically, these are the companies that provide equipment and services to protect ports, bridges, airports and other physical infrastructure deemed critical to US homeland security.  Similar to many other industries, SIA’s members are experiencing great difficulties in hiring workers with technical skills at all levels and their members are interested in doing more in the education and workforce policy arena.  The SIA is active federally, as well as at the state level, and has a robust government affairs function that is run out of their Silver Spring, MD offices.  They have an active professional education and training agenda for their members and are looking to become more involved in education policy generally.

SIA will be represented on the Coalition by Don Erickson, their Executive Director.

“The number one business issue facing SIA members today is identifying, attracting, and retaining qualified talent.   SIA recognizes that meeting this goal begins with supporting a robust investment in STEM curriculum at the earliest stages of learning.  SIA’s membership in the STEM Education Coalition is a key element of our plan to address the Security Skills Gap and help our members address this critical business challenge.  The Coalition’s well-defined public policy agenda, expertise and influence is well-known and SIA looks forward to working with fellow members to raise awareness about the essential value of investing in STEM education,” Erickson said in a statement.

You can learn more about SIA here:  https://www.securityindustry.org/ and on Twitter.