New Investments in Workforce Development Will Strengthen Links between Education, Needed Skills, Workers and Jobs

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Missouri economic leaders today announced new efforts to reimagine workforce development initiatives across the region, calling it a necessity to "overhaul how we train our workers and connect our people to the jobs of the future." Delta Regional Authority Alternate Federal Co-Chairman Mike Marshall was joined by Bill Ransdall of the Missouri Department of Economic Development and Ted Abernathy of Economic Leadership LLC as well as leaders from business, industry and education.

"Just like the flow of the Mississippi River, the Delta economy is constantly changing -- and our workforce training needs to change with it. Working with our partners, we are committed to overhauling how we train our workers and connect our people to jobs of the future," said DRA Federal Co-Chairman Christopher Masingill. "This initiative is aimed at strengthening our workforce, encouraging lifelong learning and increasing the standard of living in the region."

"Developing a highly-skilled, educated workforce is critical to improving the economic climate in the Delta and preparing job seekers of all ages for success today, and in the future," said DRA Alternate Federal Co-Chairman Mike Marshall. "By rethinking workforce training, we are making a lasting investment in Delta communities -- creating jobs, growing our small businesses and driving economic growth in the region."

The series of summits follow the release of the 2013 Report on the Future of the South: Re-imagining Workforce Development. The comprehensive report acknowledges that the recession has amplified challenges in the Delta and identifies an increasingly competitive talent pool, changing life-cycles and the rapid pace of the global marketplace as the driving forces behind the shifting workplace environment.

"In order to continue to foster economic growth in the great state of Missouri and the Delta region, we need to invest in cutting-edge workforce training and leadership," said Ransdall. "This summit is a critical step in doing just that -- bringing together economic and business leaders to collaborate on new and innovative ways to strengthen our region's workforce."

"There has been a major change in the composition of the workforce in the Delta in recent years," said Abernathy. "The distribution of jobs today is very different than a just a few years ago, and it is not just jobs that are changing but the skills required to do them as well."

The report outlines three key recommendations: Re-imagining readiness, re-engaging adult learners and disconnected youth and re-aligning relationships and resources. Additional recommendations identified in the report include strengthening the connection between education and job skills, advancing online learning opportunities and certificate programs and creating a culture of lifelong learning from early childhood through adulthood.

The Missouri Workforce Development Summit is part of a series of Reimagining the Delta Workforce summits that will take place over the course of the next few months in the eight-state delta region. Additionally, the DRA is making available $1.7 million in competitive funding for communities and regional clusters to build capacity and provide technical assistance to community leaders to enhance local workforce training systems into a pipeline of skilled workers.