< Previous96 M I S S OU RI : M A K IN G . G R O W IN G . M O V IN G .The program is available to high school students from Lee’s Summit R-7 School District’s Summit Technology Academy, which offers STEM-based curriculum and pulls from the district’s 24 high schools. The Summit Technology Academy is in the new 140,000-square-foot, $40-million Missouri Innovation Campus building in Lee’s Summit. MIC currently offers four programs; systems engineering technology, drafting and design technology, computer science, and cybersecurity. A fifth program in bioinformatics will be added in the summer. The curriculums are reviewed every other year to ensure the technology and industry standards that are being taught remain relevant. Students are accepted into the program in their junior year of high school. They begin by taking courses that allow them to earn an associate degree from Metropolitan Community College — tuition free — while simultaneously completing high school. The final two years of the program focus on earning a bachelor of science degree from the University of Central Missouri. Students end up earning their college degree two years earlier than their peers. In addition to graduating sooner, students are also able to get real-world experience through a three-year, year-round paid internship. Students begin the internship with a corporate partner in the summer of their junior year of high school and continue working until graduating from UCM. The program began in 2012. Since its inception, two cohorts made up of 19 students have graduated with bachelor’s degrees. The upcoming graduating cohort in May will add another 17 more graduates of the program. The number of corporate partners has also grown over the years — beginning with three corporate partners and one program to currently working with 50 partners on both the Missouri and Kansas side of Kansas City in five different course programs. All the students so far have been offered full-time employment, earning an average of $60,000 a year after graduation.“The competencies that these students are learning are the ones that businesses choose.”— Stan Elliot, director of MICM I S S OU RI : M A K I NG . G R O W I NG . MO V I NG .97Stan Elliot, director of MIC, says corporate partners report being very satisfied with their interns and hires and says it’s a “perfect world” for students as well.“The corporate folks love this approach from the get-go,” Elliot says. “The competencies that these students are learning are the ones that businesses choose. They said, ‘Okay, if you’re going to be a programmer in the Kansas City region, here’s the tool belt. Here’s the skills that you need to have.’ And then they deliver their proprietary skills during that three-year internship. So, the HR folks, the talent acquisition folks, they love that they get the kids for three years, so they can make sure that they’re a fit before they’ve even graduated.” MIC o ers programs in systems engineering, drafting and design, technology, computer science and cyber security.Photos courtesy of University of Central Missouri98 M I S S OU RI : M A K I NG . G R O W I NG . MO V I NG .W ORKF OR C ETo get a glimpse of the Show Me State’s resourceful nature, just look at its people. Missouri’s workforce boasts a work ethic and high level of skill that can only be found in the American Midwest. Home to more than million workers, the state’s talent pool runs deep and draws from a network of public four-year universities, public two-year colleges, independent colleges, specialized and technical colleges, theological institutions and more than proprietary and private career schools. Missouri’s Department of Higher Education has set a goal o cially known as Missouri’s Big Goal for Higher Education — for percent of the state’s adult workers to have earned a certi cate or degree by . And the state has made great strides toward that goal. In , percent of Missourians had an associate or bachelor’s degree, when professional certi cate holders were factored in the percentage jumped to more than percent. Additionally, more than percent of the state’s workers have earned at least a high school diploma, making the state one of the top ten in the nation. In an e ort to streamline the state’s workforce development e orts, Missouri launched several new initiatives in . e approach included reducing red tape, improving training opportunities for the state’s workers and encouraging small businesses to open shop. Another key initiative involved overhauling the state’s workforce development e orts. “We developed an approach that puts our customers and end users fi rst and foremost and brought together all of our workforce development e orts under one umbrella that we call Skilled Workforce Missouri.”— Rob Dixon, Director of Missouri Department of Economic Developmentby S AVAN NAH K I N GMissouri’s workers are highly skilled and dedicated to the job.SHOW ME THE SKILLSRob Dixon, director of Missouri Department of Economic Development, says the state’s previous workforce development e orts were spread out across several agencies, making it di cult for companies to navigate. “So, we developed an approach that puts our customers and end users rst and foremost and brought together all of our workforce development e orts under one umbrella that we call Skilled Workforce Missouri.” rough Skilled Workforce Missouri, companies nd a streamlined approach to accessing training that helps employees get up to speed as companies introduce new product lines, upgrade technology, make quality and productivity improvements, or expand in a new location. Leggett and Platt and M were the rst companies to enroll in SHOW ME THE SKILLSImage: Getty Images100 M I S S OU RI : M A K I NG . G R O W I NG . MO V I NG .the program. Companies can also get personalized help with a Skilled Workforce Missouri project manager who will help with training, recruiting talent and any ongoing support the company needs to meet its goals. Skilled Workforce Missouri works with the state’s community and technical colleges, state technical center and job centers and goes a step further by helping existing workers to “skill up” as a company’s needs change. There are 32 Missouri Job centers and 57 Career Centers located across the state helping local companies with their talent needs. “These programs are totally flexible for companies,” says Dixon. “The businesses have complete control over who does the training. That’s a key innovation that we’ve really brought to this. Whether it’s our state’s own workforce network or your company’s own training experts — in house or third-party providers — or any combination of source that you’re looking at, Skilled Workforce Missouri is going to provide some flexible options for funding to help offset that cost for job creation in Missouri.” M I S S OU RI : M A K IN G . G R O W IN G . M O V IN G . 101P H O T O G A LLE R YThe Old Courthouse in Downtown St. LouisAll photos courtesy of Missouri Partnership unless stated otherwiseTHE SHOW ME STATE102 M I S S OU RI : M A K IN G . G R O W IN G . M O V IN G .Above: Kansas City is known as “ The City of Fountains” and has more than 200 official fountains.Left: Missouri WineBelow: Flight of the F/A-18E/F Advanced Super HornetPhoto by Kevin Flynn courtesy of BoeingM I S S OU RI : M A K IN G . G R O W IN G . M O V IN G . 103Right: A steamboat on the Mississippi River in HannibalBelow: The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is located in downtown Kansas City.Bottom: The St. Louis Zoo has been ranked among the best in the country.104 M I S S OU RI : M A K I NG . G R O W I NG . MO V I NG .Ameren Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Ameren.com/EcDevAssociated Electric Cooperative Inc. . . . . . . . .43 aeci.orgBi-State Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-41 bistatedev.orgBioSTL — Investment Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . .53-56 bioSTL.orgBoonville Economic Development . . . . . . . . . 60 boonvillemo.org/economic-developmentCape Girardeau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 capeishome.com Centene Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 centene.comCentral Missouri Economic Development Alliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 choosecentralmo.comCity of Blue Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 bluespringsgov.com City of Wentzville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 wentzvillemo.org Columbia Regional Economic Development Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 ColumbiaREDI.comCo-Mo Electric Cooperative, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .47 co-mo.coop co-mo.netConway Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC conway.comGrow Neosho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC-1 growneosho.com joplinregionalpartnership.com grownevadomo.org bartoncounty.com joplincc.com carthagechamber.comEconomic Development Corp. of Kansas City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 edckc.comKansas City Area Development Council . . . . . 17 thinkKC.comKansas City Southern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 KCSouthern.comKirksville Regional Economic Development Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 K-redi.comLake of the Ozarks Regional Economic Development Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 LOREDC.comLiberty Economic Development Corp. . . . . . . 13 thinklibertymo.comMissouri Community College Association . . . .97 mccatoday.orgMissouri Division of Tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 visitMO.comMissouri Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC missouripartnership.comMissouri Realtors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 missourirealtor.orgMoberly Area Economic Development Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 moberly-edc.comNortheast Missouri Economic Development Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 hredc.comRobinson Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 robinsonconstruction.comSt. Joseph Economic Development Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 choosestjoseph.comSt. Louis Economic Development Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 stlpartnership.comSpringfield Regional Economic Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 35 SpringfieldRegion.comTaney County Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 Staneycountypartnership.comWashington University in St. Louis . . . . . . . . . .95 wustl.eduI N D E X T O A D V E R T I S E R SAdvertiser PageAdvertiser PageNext >