The growth of the technology industry has spread from the San Francisco Bay Area to new markets across America, including Kansas City and St. Louis, according to a new Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry study.
“We are very competitive and the data shows that Missouri is indeed an emerging tech hub,” said Kara Corches, director of legislative affairs at the Missouri Chamber. “Missouri fares very well in some of the areas that companies are looking at for specific criteria when relocating or expanding tech businesses.”
The Missouri Chamber Foundation’s Technology 2030 Report found that the tech sector accounted for just under 5% of employment statewide and more than 5% of the state’s establishments.
“That's just the tech sector, which is in addition to tech workers or tech occupations that may be housed in other industries like a cyber security analyst at a hospital system,” Corches told the St. Louis Record.
Daniel Mehan, president, and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement online that the state needs to improve in four areas in order to attract tech companies and make the most of its current position as an emerging tech hub.
Broadband. “In our Missouri general assembly, there is a special committee called the Special Interim Committee on Broadband Development that's specifically focused on broadband buildout and with the influx of the federal funding that's coming down from both the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act, there’s a lot more funding available for our state to utilize in increasing broadband access to both rural and urban communities statewide," Corches said in an interview. "Our economic growth in the tech sector really does rely upon it.”
Transportation infrastructure. “To have a system of working roads and bridges, especially in the world of tech manufacturing, which would need to get their supplies out to customers, is important and the passage of the gas tax in the 2021 legislative session is going to go a long way to improving road conditions in Missouri," Corches said.
Workforce preparation. “At the next legislative session, we will be honing in on how to increase workforce development opportunities for tech-focused jobs,” Corches said. “Along with policies, we actually have a programming aspect within our Missouri Chamber Foundation which received a $6 million grant to expand tech apprenticeships. We’re committed to providing more than 5,000 tech apprenticeships over a five-year period and, to date, we've already served 870 tech apprentices.”
Investment. “An example of a policy that would help us compete is to be able to pass a Research and Development (R&D) tax credit,” Corches added. “Any company that's innovating would benefit from an R&D tax credit.”