MDHEWD unveils new strategic plan to bolster Missouri’s workforce and expand educational opportunities

The Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (MDHEWD) has released Strategic Plan 2027: Building Missouri's Future, an actionable roadmap designed to expand educational opportunity and fuel Missouri's workforce. The plan details initiatives to prepare Missourians for high-demand careers, support employers facing critical talent shortages, and position Missouri as the top state in the Midwest for educational attainment and workforce participation.

The strategic plan addresses an evolving economic landscape driven by rapid technological change, automation, and shifting demographics. By 2034, 71 percent of all jobs in Missouri will require education and training beyond a high school diploma, with 41 percent requiring certificates, industry-recognized credentials, or associate degrees, and 30 percent requiring a bachelor's degree or higher.

To meet this demand, MDHEWD has set two benchmark targets: achieving a 60 percent postsecondary educational attainment rate and a 70 percent labor force participation rate across the state. Reaching these milestones will require an estimated 252,600 additional Missourians earning quality credentials and 317,600 entering meaningful employment.

"Every Missourian deserves a clear path to economic opportunity, and ensuring our citizens have access to education and training beyond high school is essential to meeting the demands of tomorrow's economy," said Dr. Bennett Boggs, Commissioner of MDHEWD. "Whether through a registered apprenticeship, an industry-recognized certificate, or a college degree, these pathways provide families with higher earnings and greater job security while supplying employers with a resilient talent pipeline. This updated plan provides the strategic direction needed to keep training affordable, nimble, and directly aligned with fueling Missouri's workforce."

As the first state agency in the nation to integrate public higher education and workforce development, MDHEWD organized its Fiscal Year 2027 Action Agenda across three core pillars:

1. LEARN: Expanding access to high-quality, affordable pathways by establishing 60-credit-hour seamless transfer pathways across five major academic disciplines, promoting the College Reconnect campaign to help the more than 670,000 Missouri adults with college credit finish their credentials, and developing a renewed approach to registered apprenticeship expansion statewide.
2. WORK: Implementing and administering the federal Workforce Pell Grant, scaling the Career Opportunity Training for Youth (COTY) work-based learning pilot, and extending Reentry Job Center services across all 19 state correctional facilities to connect justice-involved individuals with steady employment upon release.
3. PROSPER: Maximizing student and community prosperity by finalizing a metrics-based higher education funding framework, building statewide AI literacy and workforce pipelines, and integrating ServMO to help identify opportunities to strengthen our collective community impact.

"No single institution or sector can prepare Missourians for the future alone," added Hollie Elliott, Chair of the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, and Len Toenjes, Chair of the State Workforce Development Board, in a joint statement. "When higher education institutions are aligned directly with industry and workforce partners, we are better positioned to help Missourians learn, work, and prosper. Building Missouri's Future provides the shared roadmap needed to increase educational attainment and expand opportunities across every Missouri community."

The updated strategic plan also highlights the significant return on investment that postsecondary education and workforce training provide to individuals, businesses, and Missouri taxpayers, including:

• Substantial Wage Premiums: Missourians holding a bachelor's degree or higher earn nearly double those with only a high school diploma, and workers with associate degrees make $2 million more in lifetime earnings than those without at least that level of education.
• Economic Security & Lower Unemployment: Advanced training reduces the likelihood of unemployment in Missouri, with data indicating that individuals with credentials or college degrees experience significantly lower unemployment rates compared to those without high school credentials (as low as 1.5 percent compared to 5.8 percent).
• Taxpayer Return: Missouri's public workforce system delivers an immediate economic impact. In 2025 alone, local Job Centers helped nearly 28,000 job seekers gain employment and served nearly 6,000 businesses, with workers earning $32 in wages for every federal dollar invested.

To read the full strategic plan and explore key state data indicators, visit MDHEWD's website.