The Economic Importance of Growing Missouri’s Skilled Manufacturing Workforce
Industry and manufacturing are key to Missouri’s economy and fuel prosperity at the regional, state, county, and local levels. Thriving manufacturing and construction sectors are only possible when a sufficiently large, sufficiently skilled workforce is available. In turn, those good paying jobs contribute to vibrant, successful communities and enable individual citizens to escape cycles of poverty and become self-sufficient.
Three major industries are prevalent in Buchanan County and the surrounding area – industrial products and manufacturing, agricultural/food processing, and construction and support services. There is a substantial convergence in the technologies these sectors rely upon, such as controls, electronics, pneumatics, and hydraulics.
Recent studies indicate that strong job growth will take place in industrial technology, mechanical technology, and construction technology. Yet before we can capitalize on that opportunity we must first overcome the huge gap in today’s skilled manufacturing workforce. Nearly two-thirds of Northwest Missouri Manufacturers already report grappling with a scarcity of skilled workers and with serious deficiencies in the level of skills possessed by the labor available.
