Panel seeks to ensure St. Louis region has workforce to grow aerospace industry
By James Drew – Reporter, St. Louis Business Journal. Aug 28, 2024
A task force created by St. Louis Regional Freightway is reaching out to the public about projected demand for workers in the region's aerospace and aviation industries.
The collaboration among the area’s five major airports, aerospace companies and leaders in education and workforce development will be instrumental in ensuring the region has the “available talent pool required for continued growth,” Randell Gelzer Jr., senior director of government operations for The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) said in a statement. Gelzer is a task force member.
The goal of the St. Louis Regional Aerospace and Aviation Task Force is to share details about educational and workforce training programs and events, said Mary Lamie, executive vice president of multimodal enterprises for Bi-State Development and head of St. Louis Regional Freightway. Formed in 2014, it is a brand of Bi-State.
"We've got these great training programs out there and we're trying to figure out, how can we get the word out," she said.
The task force – which met in November 2023, for a second time last March and is set to convene Sept. 9 – was formed in response to about $5 billion in planned investments that could create demand for workers to fill an estimated 1,000 new positions, organizers said.
Boeing’s $1.8 billion expansion project at its north St. Louis County operations is moving forward, with construction of an aircraft assembly building under way. Production of the MQ-25 uncrewed refueling drone is expected to move early next year to Boeing’s $200 million factory in Mascoutah in Metro East.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport and city of St. Louis leadership are pursuing a $3 billion overhaul of the facility, involving a reconfiguration to one terminal. Lambert has had two terminals since 1998, when Terminal 2 opened.
On Tuesday, West Star Aviation announced the completion of a new 75,700-square foot hangar at its East Alton, Illinois facility. The $20 million investment is expected to create 60 to 80 new jobs. In June 2023, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. unveiled plans to expand operations at St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia Heights. The $28.5 million project would create 200 jobs and retain 500, the company said.
In addition to Lambert and St. Louis Downtown Airport, the other three major airports in the metro area with members on the task force are the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, and St. Louis Regional Airport in East Alton, Illinois.
Others members include Lambert Executive Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge; Tony Ray, vice president-general manager of St. Louis completions for Gulfstream Aerospace; Tracy Henke, chief operating officer-deputy executive director of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center-St. Louis (AMICSTL); and Kyle Anderson, executive director and CEO of the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois.