Hannibal (WGEM) – There’s a workforce shortage in Hannibal and state officials now have a plan to tackle the problem statewide. This comes as many local businesses and colleges work to attract and train younger people to in-demand jobs.

The state’s strategic plan, put together by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, is called “Sixty For All.” It’s goal is to help 150,000 Missouri adults earn post-secondary credits like degrees from colleges, apprenticeships, and credentials by the year 2030 to help fill a workforce shortage predicted by that time.

Maria Kuhns, the Executive Director for the Hannibal Regional Economic Development, said a looming concern is the ongoing retirement of the Baby Boomer Generation. It will leave many vacant positions in manufacturing and healthcare. She said it’s good there’s a focus on workers in rural areas, especially to help people take paths to get apprenticeships or certifications.

“People who maybe don’t take the traditional career path of going straight into a four year. Doing that full time and then coming out with a degree. We need to be flexible with people as they are thinking about what credentials they want to attain,” Kuhns said.

The plan looks to use both state and federal funds to help Missouri students either get apprenticeships or college degrees so they can fill those open positions in the workforce.

Kuhns said they are excited about the plan and look forward to executing it and other businesses and colleges can contribute. She said currently, many local employers have focused on upskilling to try to get workers the skills they need to succeed, as well as partnering with colleges to provide internship opportunities to get people experience in the field. It also helps rural areas maintain their workforces and grow their own, which is another part of the plan they like

College degrees are another focus of the plan

Eric Kniel, the Director of Admissions for Culver-Stockton College, said having credentials, ranging from an apprenticeship to a college degree, are more important than they’ve ever been. The plan seeks to encourage students to attend college by removing barriers. He said some barriers for students applying for colleges include cost, but also not having a plan on what they want to do. But the plan also looks to help people finish their degrees in college.

“Circumstances can change where a lot of times we’ll see students who say, they know the value of wanting to finish but maybe something has happened at home and they need to go work full time and just don’t have time to finish school. Maybe they’ve had something happen and grades have dropped or maybe they’ve realized the program they are in, they’d like to do something else,” Kniel said.

Kniel said people who drop out can find it difficult to return to college, so the states plan to find ways to help students finish their degrees is useful to ensure they remain on tract.

He said if more qualified people enter into the workforce they can help to replace the retiring and aging workers, especially in the teaching and medical fields. He said this is good because it can fill gaps in rural areas.

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