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Gov. Nixon eyes job creation through community collegesby David Catanese, KY3 News
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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon brought his push for new jobs to Springfield on Tuesday. He announced a $12 million pot of money available for community college training programs. The idea targets job sectors with a growing need. The state's 12 community colleges will compete for $12 million. Their applications will be judged on which can create or expand programs that will put people to work the fastest. From healthcare specialties to automotive specialists, there are areas that have employment shortages. At Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC), there is a shortage of training opportunities because classes are full. OTC president Hal Higdon plans to bid aggressively for the pot of money to expand programs. "I'd hope that we get somewhere around $1 million and we'd put that into a lot of programs," Higdon said. With the state unemployment rate at 9.5 percent, Nixon sees rapid worker training as the best way to boost employment in the short term. "This is about building people; this is about building the skills necessary that have the jobs that exist right now in this economy," Nixon said. One specific area with a continuing need is pharmacies. Pharmacist Gary Grove welcomes the expansion of training programs but said some community colleges need to increase the amount of on-the-job experience so their applicants can be more competitive. "The people that we've had apply in the past from some of the schools have not had any hands-on training," said Grove. Plus, with the recent announcement that Missouri State University plans to partner with University of Missouri-Kansas City to create a pharmacy program, the field of pharmacy technicians likely will grow more competitive. "It's going to be harder when you have the choice of hiring a pharmacy student that wants to be your technician, or you have someone that has never worked in a pharmacy and just taken a technician course to be your technician," said Grove. Competition is what Nixon aims for. As the third largest community college in the state, OTC's leaders said they are ready to make their pitch. "If I was applying for those dollars, I would be trying to put in that application the most jobs you could create with those applications," Nixon said. Get more political news on the KY3 News Political Notebook HERE. Follow Dave Catanese on TWITTER HERE. Most Viewed
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