According to the Missouri Chamber Foundation, Missouri is on its way to becoming an emerging hub in the technology sector.
The organization updated its “Technology 2030” report on Tuesday, which outlines strategies to make Missouri a global economic leader in the technology sector by 2030.
The report states that the state is expected to be in the top 10 for tech manufacturing job growth in the country over the next five years.
“We are experiencing rapid technology change. We tell everyone we think it’s the most change we have seen since the 1960s,” explained Ted Abernathy, Co-author of the “Technology 2030” report.
According to the Missouri Chamber Foundation, job postings in emerging tech industries such as ag tech, AI, and cybersecurity have increased in recent months.
Over the past five years, the state has added over 14,000 tech-related jobs.
“So, it’s a time of rapid scenario planning for tech companies, and they are trying to figure out where they will be in the future, to make the new stuff, service things, and where they want to be profitable. You have a manufacturing history here in the state, so people are used to manufacturing and like it. But manufacturing is about do you have infrastructure, do you have the business climate in the state, so you’re a good tax state, you’re a good regulatory state,” Abernathy said.
These factors have led Missouri to be the seventh fastest-growing tech economy in the country.
Abernathy says the technical manufacturing sector is the state’s biggest strength.
In 2022, the sector employed more than 159 thousand residents, earning almost 19 billion dollars in income.
One of the biggest concerns for the state was the recruitment and retention of tech-related professionals to the state.
“Now people are in-migrating, part of that is what drives people to move has changed. Affordability has become a part of it, but also opportunity.”
“Everybody else is competing with you. Everybody is spending their days having meetings, trying to figure out how to beat Missouri. So, don’t rest on your morals, and never think you have reached the end of the competitiveness road. You’ll have to continue to evaluate what you do well and sell that,” Abernathy said.
The Technology 2030 Report features seven recommendations to improve Missouri’s tech competitiveness:
Leverage sectors where Missouri already has strengths.
Focus talent recruitment on returning Missourians.
Expand efforts to connect young people with technology careers.
Increase outreach to underrepresented groups in the technology workforce.
Promote regional business climate strengths.
Address weaknesses in technology infrastructure and digital equity.
Establish a public-private partnership for artificial intelligence advancement.