HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) - Huntsville-area educators focus a lot on promoting STEM - science, technology, entineering and math.

A new report from WalletHub.com suggests they're smart to do so. It also pinpoints several cities in Alabama and Tennessee which are among the best for STEM workers.

First, a couple of quick facts about STEM occupations. According to the Department of Commerce,

 STEM professions will expand 1.7 times faster than non-STEM occupations through 2018.

By David Zaslawsky 

January 2015 

Montgomery officials are recruiting a company that would initially bring 500 jobs. About 10 percent of those jobs require a two-year postsecondary education; none require a four-year degree; and the remainder are for high school graduates or those with a GED.

After officials, including Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange and Mark Heinrich, chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, exchanged small talk about the company officials' flight to Montgomery, the discussion turned serious. 

Strange said the company wanted to know about the school district's dropout rate. That issue is being addressed by Montgomery Public Schools, the Alabama State Department of Education and its 2020 plan to increase graduation rates and prepare students for postsecondary education or the workforce. Other education-related organizations are also heavily involved in the process.

For years, businesses and industries have been clamoring for a more skilled workforce and responses to those requests have been "disjointed and sometimes just downright dysfunctional," said Leslie Sanders, 2014 chairman of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.