Throughout the summer I worked with Commissioner of Higher Education Zora Mulligan, Director of Economic Development Rob Dixon and other leaders throughout the state on the Talent for Tomorrow task force. This initiative set out to fundamentally reset Missouri’s approach to meeting the state’s workforce needs and create a new statewide strategy for economic development.
Last week I was pleased to be part of the Governor’s Conference on Economic Development where the task force issued its final product — a data-based assessment of the state’s current workforce and how well it matches Missouri’s economic needs.
Workforce priorities
The assessment identified several workforce priorities for Missouri:
- Aerospace and defense
- Agribusiness
- Automotive and transportation
- Energy solutions
- Entertainment and media
- Financial services
- Life sciences
- Cross-sector manufacturing
- Education
- Healthcare
- Information technology
The assessment also identified significant statewide labor shortages in particular skilled fields, such as nursing, business management and K-12 education.
For example, the Kansas City region needs to fill an anticipated 804 job openings for registered nurses, 680 job openings for general and operations managers, and 595 job openings for software developers annually. The St. Louis region needs to fill an anticipated 2,218 job openings for registered nurses, 1,124 job openings for general and operations managers, and 546 job openings for software developers annually. The Ozark region needs to fill an anticipated 479 job openings for registered nurses, 276 job openings for general and operations managers, and 365 job openings for teachers annually.
Missouri State is well positioned to grow our programs in these areas and do our part to meet these workforce needs.
Preparing students for these high-demand fields
The state will advance policies that encourage colleges and universities to continue to prepare students for work in high-demand fields. This means the state’s primary funding framework will be based on performance measures clearly linked to employment. Additional funding will be tied to specific workforce needs, and the state’s education systems will be aligned with economic development and public workforce systems.
We should welcome these policy shifts. Missouri State performs well on employment-linked performance measures. We have a strong record for graduating people with the skills needed to succeed in high-demand fields.
The workforce shortages noted above connect directly with our expertise. We have the largest business school in the state. Our College of Health and Human Services is outstanding and has grown dramatically in recent history. More Missouri teachers have a degree from Missouri State University than any other university.
We have grown in each of these areas, and we have room to continue to grow. We are well-positioned to play a critical role in the state’s plans to develop a labor market that works.
Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!
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