Attracting Tech Talent: Training adapts quickly to bring tech, jobs to Springfield

Change arrives exponentially in the world of tech. With it comes immense potential and opportunity – opportunities suddenly manifesting like something straight out of science-fiction.

“My mind is blown on a weekly and, often, consecutively daily basis,” said Jonathan Hodges, vice president of technology for e-commerce agency Classy Llama Studios LLC. “Yesterday, it was a dream or an idea, and now it’s released to billions of people around the world. How are we moving at this pace?”

The most recent edition of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Technology2030 report, using 2022 data, found tech represented 10% of the state’s total economic output at $38 billion in gross state product. There was a 2.5% increase in net tech jobs from 2021 to 2022, a trend state officials said they anticipate will continue moving upward. Specializations like cybersecurity, quality assurance, data analysis and software development are seeing increased demand. An updated Technology2030 report is slated for release in April, according to Karen Buschmann, executive director of the Missouri Chamber Foundation Inc., who leads the Technology2030 initiative.

On a state level, Missouri is growing with the change. On a local level, however, experts say Springfield could miss the train if it doesn’t continue developing talent and attracting companies to hire those employees. Additionally, both new and long-time workers are facing professional natural selection with those who cannot adapt being unable to survive the seismic industry shifts.

“The average technology person is facing a career shift or a riskier career than ever before. You used to be able to hang out in an industry until you retired,” Hodges said, noting Classy Llama employs 70 staffers. “There is a real divergence in tech as we have this massive gold rush toward particular areas. … If you don’t adapt, you will be left behind.”

The more they know
James Stapleton is CEO of Codefi, a Cape Girardeau-based organization that founded a Springfield extension office two years ago with Missouri State University’s Efactory. It has three primary goals: First, build more demand for tech labor; second, provide early-stage capital to startups; and three, train talent. Codefi does this through youth training programs, including a coding league and STEM programs for students from populations disproportionately underrepresented in tech. It also offers specialized adult training for those making a career shift into technology, with 650 people trained over the past seven years. These days, a degree or trade training in computer science is rarely enough. Specialization is required, and local training programs are building that specialization into their curriculum.

“The need to specialize has especially driven in the last four or five years,” said Stapleton, “the need to build those additional skills on top of that basic knowledge and skill set.”

Xiang Guo is head of Missouri State University’s Department of Information Technology and Cybersecurity. His degree programs are built with foundations in mind: business, basic tech and computer skills. Then, students build on those core learnings through certification programs that make them more competitive for hire.

“We align our teaching with the certificates. When they graduate, they not only get an undergraduate degree, but also knock out a couple certificates along the way,” he said. “We talk about AI and ChatGPT and other things. These tools lower the barrier of entry so, if you only have general knowledge, you will face much higher competition from other people.”

Guo and department faculty meet annually with industry leaders to discuss what they are looking for in new hires, which informs curriculum adjustments made by faculty to train in growing areas. Some of the specializations Stapleton finds to be in high demand are software development, cybersecurity and quality assurance. Of course, navigating artificial intelligence is also at the forefront, and Hodges said tech companies are seeing increased demand for assisting clients with AI integration. Many companies are still hesitant to integrate these types of services, and tech companies can offer this education as a service to help businesses get started.

“People are curious,” Hodges said. “They recognize that we are in a time of change and they are looking for a guide. … Right now, we are very much leading with, we are doing all the research so you don’t have to. Let us help you as an organization to take you to the next level so you remain competitive and gain advantages.”

While AI can offer numerous business opportunities for tech companies, it’s also causing massive disruption. Programmers, for example, can often greatly speed up their process. Hodges said sometimes code writing for internal systems or website development that would take him a day to complete can be done in under an hour.

“Sometimes it doesn’t help at all, sometimes it’s an assistant,” he said, “and there are other times where it will literally take an hour to do a day’s work or less.”

Stapleton said Codefi integrates AI training and tools into numerous aspects of its curriculum to ensure “people coming out of our training program continue to have the latest and greatest emerging tools that professional developers are using.”

Data science is another surging specialty. While data is nothing new, capabilities and storage space potential have expanded, requiring new tools and approaches to manage the massive amounts of data companies collect. Each data point represents a possibility to maximize efficiency, Hodges said – even creating entirely new niche products and services.

“Depending on how unique that ends up being, you may find out that we have something very strategically interesting,” he said. “Sometimes it turns out one portion of that is groundbreaking and can allow you to have a competitive advantage. It’s hard to know if you don’t understand both industry benchmarks but also your own benchmarks.”

The data is there, so you might as well make use of it – but it’s the implementation aspect that’s difficult. That’s where tech companies can find a niche by offering data analytics to customers.

“I think Springfield has a number of businesses that can really benefit from this opportunity,” Hodges said. “A lot of businesses have a tremendous amount of data, and I think understanding how to harness that and then apply it is a thing that we as an organization, and there are others as well, hope to bring to the Springfield area.”

Bring it on
Technology is slated for massive growth in Missouri, and there are numerous ways tech professionals can get involved. Springfield has an influx of talent with students coming to train for tech careers in the city, although many of them leave upon graduation. Guo said most of his students come from Kansas City or out of state, and most will leave Springfield upon graduation.

Because it can be difficult to find people in Springfield with the necessary specialized skills, Hodges said the majority of Classy Llama’s programmers are hired nationally or internationally. For those that are hired, Hodges said, more experienced workers are being paid less than before in an increasingly competitive market.

Rachel Munday, executive director of the Efactory, said talent acquisition and retention is one of the most significant challenges for tech startups in the Springfield area. This prompted the partnership with Codefi to create a talent pipeline so more tech companies will choose Springfield as home.

“Through our partnership, and the networks of organizations that have joined us throughout Southern Missouri to develop the Southern Missouri Innovation Network,” she said, “we’re addressing these challenges, closing the gaps in services and unlocking potential for Missourians.”

Munday said she still sees a strong interest in tech startups wanting to found a business in Springfield, with increased emphasis on validation, market research and creating sustainable business models: “This is likely from a combination of factors: increased awareness of the challenges and opportunities in the tech sector, a more discerning investor landscape and a growing recognition that successful tech ventures require a blend of innovation and solid business acumen.”

Stapleton hopes, through the efforts of his team and others, that Springfield will become increasingly aware of and appealing to the tech sector so it can catch the tech train as it comes racing by.

“I think we need a lot more focus in our region of raising awareness of the technology economy, the impact it’s having on the state,” he said. “We tend to be a region focused on the traditional economic sector and don’t see a lot of focus from an investment standpoint or interest standpoint on the impact tech has on our economy. … I think we need to figure out how to grow both the demand for and supply of that tech talent for the tech economy.”