Three Missouri higher education institutions are working together to modernize the state’s manufacturing industry and develop its workforce, with $9.1 million in Missouri’s fiscal year 2025 budget being awarded to support their efforts.
“Missouri desperately needs more engineering and technical students educated in emerging advanced manufacturing technology to address the shortage of employees in this industry,” says Dr. Richard Billo, director of Missouri University of Science and Technology’s Kummer Institute Center for Advanced Manufacturing. “We are thrilled to work closely with our colleagues in the state’s community colleges to improve the employee pipeline and help our state’s manufacturers become — and stay — globally competitive with innovative products and processes.”
The funding comes as part of the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development’s MoExcels Workforce Initiative. Missouri S&T will serve as the lead institution for the project titled “Bridging the Manufacturing Critical Skills Gap.” Partner institutions include East Central College (ECC) and St. Charles Community College (SCC).
An advisory board of leaders in the manufacturing sector provided S&T with a list of critical skills needed by their companies and others. Based off these recommendations, S&T will modernize its undergraduate manufacturing curriculum and incorporate new technologies and equipment to ensure the university’s training and education is well-aligned with the needs of Missouri manufacturers.
S&T will also host manufacturing summer camps for students, as well as manufacturing professional development initiatives for K-12 teachers.
The university’s Kummer Center for STEM Education and SCC will visit hundreds of elementary schools with S&T’s STEM Mobile — a STEM outreach van that will be filled with equipment for manufacturing education — and provide hands-on experiences for thousands of Missouri students as young as nine years old.
East Central College
ECC will construct a Center for Advanced Manufacturing, which will be part of its new campus in Rolla. The facility, which will include state-of-the-art equipment, classrooms and laboratory space, is expected to be completed in late 2025. This will allow ECC to provide more opportunities for short-term credentials, one-year certificates and two-year degrees related to manufacturing.
Dr. Jon Bauer, president of ECC, says the close connections the three institutions share for one common mission can serve as a model for how other schools can come together at the state level.
“East Central College, Missouri S&T and St. Charles Community College are all working hard to make Missouri companies competitive and provide students with the skills and experiences to be employed in great industry positions,” Bauer says. “That is a goal everyone should be able to get behind, and we appreciate the support we have received from our fellow higher education institutions and the state of Missouri.”
St. Charles Community College
SCC will take part in joint K-12 outreach efforts with Missouri S&T, focusing on rural areas to spread awareness about the manufacturing profession and different career paths.
The St. Charles County-based college also plans to develop new manufacturing curriculum focused on emerging energy technologies. SCC will collaborate with S&T on a strategy using dual enrollment programs, internships and continuing education courses to streamline students’ progress from high schools to community colleges and universities to industry roles.
“We look forward to further spreading awareness about the advanced manufacturing industry and how Missourians can be part of it,” says Dr. Barbara Kavalier, SCC’s president. “This is a tremendously rewarding field for our graduates, and further developing the workforce will also benefit the state’s economy.”
