City seeks $8M federal grant to create AI training hub

If a federal grant is secured, Springfield is expected to become the home base for an innovative regional initiative to train much of southwest Missouri’s workforce on the use of artificial intelligence.

The city of Springfield’s Department of Workforce and Economic Vitality recently applied for $8 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to establish the Ozarks AI Workforce Collaborative. It would serve Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, Stone, Taney and Webster counties.

Ericka Schmeeckle, assistant director of the department, said the proposed AI training hub would help impart skills needed for job-seekers and employees trying to remain and advance in their careers.

She said while economic forecasters have predicted AI will displace certain workers – especially in entry-level jobs – learning the tool may help individuals secure and maintain employment.

“We are trying to go ahead and establish this AI hub in our community to have that in place and to go ahead and start working with the businesses, employers and schools to be prepared for when we truly start to see the effects of AI locally within our employers and workforce,” she said.

A March 2026 report by Goldman Sachs Research estimated that 300 million jobs globally may be exposed to automation by AI, and the impact is already being felt in the technology, knowledge and creative sectors.

The outlook from the investment bank’s global research arm predicted AI could automate 25% of work tasks in the U.S. in the next decade while also creating more specialized jobs.

The city may know as early as this fall if the AI Upskill Accelerator Pilot Program grant was awarded by Trump administration officials.

Schmeeckle said the Economic Development Administration plans to invest up to $25 million to start “five to eight” programs, and the Springfield area wants to be one of them.

“They’re really looking at the ways that AI could be used to upskill the region,” she said.

The application, developed by city grant coordinator Maddy MacNeill, stated the AI hub would work to help businesses responsibly adopt AI to improve productivity and competitiveness in an effort to position southwest Missouri as a leader in workforce innovation and economic growth.

According to the grant application, the city plans to use the three-year grant to directly train 1,600 participants and prepare 300 middle and high school educators to deploy AI in their classrooms to reach an estimated 30,000 students.

Schmeeckle said students need to have “future-ready skills” as they are entering the workforce.

“We may not know how the future is changing in 10-15 years but we can project, we can look ahead ... and give you the skills to be flexible enough to go into that next career,” she said.

She said the concept behind the AI hub is to build a long-term regional AI ecosystem in the Ozarks rather than a temporary training program.

She said fleshing out the concept involved regular meetings with JMark CEO Thomas Douglas – who serves on the Ozark Region Workforce Development Board – and officials at Mostly Serious, a digital agency.

The ORWD board recently voted to support the grant application, arguing it will strengthen the region’s workforce, improve business competitiveness and prepare workers for rapidly changing demands.

The board agreed to serve as a strategic partner by engaging with employers to identify skill needs and opportunities for AI adoption. It also agreed to coordinate with any partners to expand access to AI training.

In recent months, Ozarks Technical Community College was looped in because the institution has an infrastructure in place to provide workforce training.

“I’ve been in the conversation,” said Hal Higdon, Ozarks Tech chancellor. “It is in the conceptual stage. We have not put in any firm plans, but we definitely plan to be a part.”

Douglas said supporters also planned to reach out to potential education partners.

As the city pursues the grant, Douglas is working on creating a nonprofit or foundation called the Ozark Regional Center of Excellence to provide technical support.

“The funding at the federal level going to this is exactly what we need to kickstart it and then to develop an ongoing funding stream as we move forward,” he said.

He said the center could be a non-biased “resource for businesses and individuals in the area to help them just have a single place to go and get answers.”

Douglas said AI is expected to reshape the workforce, and training teachers is a way to impart skills on the next generation of workers so they can use AI in “an ethical and responsible way.”

He said the concept for the center came from a symposium in the past year focused on strategic foresight that involved JMark, Mostly Serious, CoxHealth, 417 Magazine and others.

Douglas said the center has not yet formed and more work is needed. He said the goal is not to compete with commercially available training options.

“Our focus is more around people who are unemployed, underemployed – trying to level up their careers or trying to make sure they have the skill sets necessary ... to navigate through the next decade of work,” he said. “We’re hoping that the demographic that we are reaching out to is a group of folks we can take from entry-level wages to moderate to medium-level wages.”