Governor touts need for community college training

Gov. Jay Nixon visited Ozarks Technical Community College on Thursday as part of a statewide effort to raise awareness about the need for more training programs at the state's community colleges.

After touring OTC's automotive training program, Nixon held a roundtable discussion with area business leaders to discuss strategies to help Missourians compete for jobs in the new economy.

The OTC visit, along with a similar trip to Crowder College in Neosho, came on the heels of a series of statewide discussions with business executives about opportunities and challenges in turning around a slow economy. Most leaders across the state said that Missouri must train more workers to meet demand in growing high-tech industries.

"To turn this economy around, Missouri must have the right workers with the right skills to compete for the jobs of tomorrow," Nixon said in a news release. "Our community colleges are vital partners in these efforts. Together, we're identifying the skills employers need in their workers and ensuring that our community colleges are providing programs that target those exact requirements."

The governor's office cited data from the Missouri Department of Higher Education that said Missouri's 12 public community colleges saw a 5.9 percent increase in enrollment from spring 2008 to spring 2009. Those schools have about 90,000 attendees - roughly 40 percent of the total enrollment in public higher-education institutions.

"Our challenge will be to ensure that the types of trained workers businesses need are ready and available," Nixon said in the release. "This conversation, and others like it around the state, will ensure that our community colleges are prepared to accomplish just that mission."[[In-content Ad]]