Governor Mike Kehoe, in his State of the State address on January 28, announced the signing of Executive Order 25-16, establishing the Governor's Workforce of the Future Challenge, which instructs DESE to put a plan in place for better coordination among key stakeholders, including K-12 schools, local business and industry, and higher education to improve the state’s career and technical education programs and infrastructure. The Executive Order may be found on the Missouri Secretary of State's website.

The charges that constitute the Governor's Workforce of the Future Challenge will be carried out as stipulated by the Executive Order:

• Directive to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education:
  The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall engage key stakeholders to update and improve career and technical education delivery systems in Missouri. The focus of this work shall be on marked improvements to career and technical education attainment and increasing utilization through existing programming.
  
  Recommendations for fundamental and long-term changes should also be considered.
• Objectives and Guiding Principles: 
  The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall work with stakeholders across the state to accomplish the following goals:
  1. Increase partnerships and awareness of career and technical education opportunities for both students and potential employers.
     1. Incentivize secondary and postsecondary training partnerships that lead to employment after training is complete or seamless continuous training at the postsecondary level.
     2. Provide resources for parents of elementary and secondary students to increase awareness of emerging industries and associated job opportunities and counter outdated misconceptions surrounding various occupations.
     3. Solidify business and industry endorsement of the Missouri CTE certificate and encourage business and industry to provide advanced employment opportunities for students who earn various training credentials.
  2. Continue career and technical education program development and expansion, emphasizing that career counseling should begin early, ideally before junior high, in a student’s academic career.
     1. Enhance career advising efforts by expanding school counselor support systems.
     2. Strengthen career advising efforts at the elementary and middle school levels.
     3. Develop instructional resources that support the development of employability skills that are in high demand.
     4. Provide support to elementary and middle schools to create age-appropriate courses that help students explore career pathways and develop fundamental technical, critical thinking, and soft skills.
     5. Address the skills gap by incentivizing the creation of work-based learning opportunities and the creation of innovative programs that respond to high demand occupations at the local level.
  3. Increase Missouri Connections utilization in K-12 and postsecondary educational institutions.
  4. In coordination with the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, increase WorkKeys implementation in Missouri high schools to ensure every county is a certified work ready county and promote and expand youth apprenticeship opportunities in both K-12 and postsecondary educational settings.
  5. Improve collaboration among regional job centers, registered youth apprenticeship consultants, and career advisors.
  6. Conduct a comprehensive review of career and technical education programs across the state to assess deficiencies and identify resources that could be better utilized toward modern programs.
  7. Identify and eliminate burdensome regulations that hinder career and technical education instruction capacity and student utilization. This should include making it easier for interested industry experts to provide career and technical education instruction by removing unnecessary and specific higher education credentials and qualifications.

• Stakeholder Engagement:
  The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall engage stakeholders, including at least those listed below, to ensure the success of this challenge, as well as solicit feedback on how the career and technical education landscape in Missouri can be improved:

  1. Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development
  2. K-12 schools
  3. Career and Technical Education institutions
  4. Business and industry partners (including those in agriculture)
  5. Economic development partners
  6. Missouri institutions of higher education (including universities and community colleges)
  7. Apprenticeship facilitators and consultants
  8. Career counseling experts
  9. Missouri’s Career and Technical Education Advisory Council

  The first stakeholder meeting shall be convened by the Governor’s Office, in collaboration with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, no later than May 1, 2025.

• Duration and Reporting:
  The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall submit an annual report to the Governor by September 30 of each year summarizing efforts that have been made in the current year, progress towards the overarching goals of this challenge, feedback from external stakeholders, and policy recommendations. The order shall remain in effect until December 31, 2028, unless otherwise dissolved by subsequent executive action. 

Work Group Members and Meeting Timeline

• Work Group Members List 

Work Group Meeting Dates and Agendas

New meeting dates will be added as they are determined.

Date	Location	Resources
April 21, 2025	Governor Office Building, Room 450	Agenda
May 5, 2025	Virtual Meeting
May 12, 2025	Virtual Meeting
May 19, 2025	Virtual Meeting

Resources

Resources and materials pertaining to the Work Group's work will be posted as they are ready.

Please email workforceofthefuture@dese.mo.gov with any questions or feedback about the Governor's Workforce of the Future.