The advanced manufacturing sector in St. Louis is still hungry for workers

Students at Ranken Technical College learn advanced manufacturing techniques. Some companies have established robust training programs because educational institutions and other local programs aren’t pumping out enough new workers.

By Eric Schmid – Reporter, St. Louis Public Radio. Mar 13, 2025

The St. Louis region’s bet on advanced manufacturing as a sector to lead economic growth for years to come still hinges on the ability to fill the roles that companies in the industry have open.

“A lot of the skills that you all need are not even thought of right now, today,” said Ranken Technical College President Don Pohl during a panel on the topic Thursday. “Most of our programs are two years in length. Those are long programs, and what we teach on day one is already obsolete by the time they graduate.”

The skills companies seek in new hires are rapidly changing, Pohl explained, which places more pressure on educational institutions like his to modify how and what they teach their students. He said one strategy is to incorporate practical experiences into the classroom or partner with companies to get students into their facilities while they’re still learning.

“You have to integrate those students into real-world work and industry right away,” he said. “I hear a lot of industry [say] that they hire somebody, the first thing they do is retrain them. But if you’re having to retrain the workforce, then the educational institution that you’re partnering with isn’t doing a very good job.”

Pohl acknowledged that some companies have established robust training programs because educational institutions and other local programs just aren’t pumping out enough new workers. And many companies have specific skills they are willing to train, said Rung for Women President and CEO Leslie Gill.

“They’re going to teach you what they need you to know, but you have to have the willingness, the aptitude and the interest to be able to do the job,” she said.

Gill’s organization trains women for new careers in technology, geospatial and advanced manufacturing sectors and just welcomed its eighth cohort. She added she frequently hears from employers who need talent.

“That is absolutely correct, but we’re also seeing in job seekers that sometimes there are barriers to entry,” Gill said.

Those barriers can include a new role requiring a college degree when it may no longer be necessary, she explained.

“Employers aren’t taking the time or don’t have the capacity to go in and update every single job description, so they’re just carrying on and doing things the way they’ve always done them,” Gill said, adding that tools like artificial intelligence can screen out qualified candidates because they don’t have specific keywords in their application materials.

She added that it helps when organizations like hers can directly connect hiring managers to the workers with the skills they’re seeking.

“We’re seeing a generation of folks who are aging out of those manufacturing jobs and so manufacturing companies are having to look for talent from a variety of sources,” Gill said, adding the increase of technology and automation in manufacturing plants makes these jobs attractive to younger generations who grew up with technology.

Ranken board member Art McCoy said he sees the same thing, adding the stigma around working in manufacturing is starting to ebb.

“It is cool to be the makers. It’s cool to be the doers and make an idea come to life,” he said. “The current 10-year-olds, 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds believe it’s cool.”

Given that, McCoy, who had served as the superintendent of the Jennings School District, emphasized the importance of building a long-term talent pipeline that engages with future potential workers when they’re still in elementary, middle and high school.

“The model is awareness for elementary, exposure for middle school, hands-on experience for high school,” he said.

Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center CEO Kory Matthews agreed.

“Opposed to high school, we need to talk K-12 and creating those opportunities to come in and just have fun,” he said. “We need to build on that interest to create awareness and create an infrastructure that can start to address and meet those needs that are expressed.”

But even with these challenges, many leaders remain optimistic and sure of a continued need for workers in manufacturing despite the rise of artificial intelligence and automation.

“We could have all the technology, all the robots in the world, but without the people to service them and teach them, they’re useless to us,” said Toyota Motor Manufacturing Missouri President Todd Williams. “It’s all about the people.”

And St. Louis has the strong manufacturing history to succeed, Matthews said.

“We have such a rich foundation, but we can no longer be that best-kept secret,” he said. “There is an urgency that we need to build on the good work that’s going on and now build on that and accelerate it.”

Read more from the st. louis Public Radio here:

https://www.stlpr.org/economy-business/2025-03-13/advanced-manufacturing-st-louis-workers