By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Avenues to enhance the St. Joseph area skilled workforce have expanded.
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce President Natalie Hawn points out 35% of St. Joseph’s economy is manufacturing based and local manufacturers are in great need of more skilled workers. Hawn says the opening of the Skilled Manufacturing Center at Hillyard Technical Center has been a great addition in training those workers and fits with the traditional college degrees offered at Missouri Western State University.
“Maybe you want to go back to school and become an engineer and get a four-year degree or a masters,” Hawn says. “It just allows you some more options and flexibility and it’s great to have that just right here in our backyard.”
Hawn says the addition of the North Central Missouri College campus in Savannah and North Central’s work with Missouri Western State University to build the Convergent Technology Alliance Center on the St. Joseph campus will also help train the high-skilled workers local manufacturers need.
Hawn says the Chamber will host its Manufacturing Day in early October with around 800 area high school students expected to visit local manufacturers. Hawn says the day focuses on the good paying jobs local manufacturers offer.
“And to see their eyes just light up and for it to really connect the dots that education, and it doesn’t have to be a four-year education, it can start with something as simple as a certificate or graduating high school,” according to Hawn. “It was just really great to see that connect with the students and sometimes they have to see it, feel it, touch it.”
Hawn says the opportunity for workers to obtain more education and training to advance will be available.
“From maybe just working the line to being a welder or getting that forklift certificate or learning CNC, becoming a diesel machinic where it significantly raises your salary and you just maybe need a little skill up to be able to do that.”
The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce will host a Career Fair September 17th from 3pm to 6pm at Stoney Creek Hotel.
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