Gov. Parson attends opening of Cape Girardeau Job Center

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson attended a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the opening of the Cape Girardeau Job Center on Thursday, June 8, at Catapult Creative House in Cape Girardeau.

According to a news release, the job center will be utilized for "reskilling and upskilling" Missouri's workers, providing feedback, collaboration and assistance to job seekers, and creating an inviting space for prospective employers to interact with job seekers. The job center will officially open Tuesday, June 20, and will occupy office space within the Catapult Creative House located at 612 Broadway.

At the opening ceremony, Parson said the Cape Girardeau Job Center, as well as other job centers established in the state, are the culmination of plans he made when he first became governor.

"These are things that I had a vision of five years ago," Parson said. "Two things I've focused on as governor to move the needle for everyday people in the state of Missouri are infrastructure and workforce development."

Parson said Missouri is seeing the lowest unemployment rate in over 40 years.

"We put 83,000 people back to work last year because of workforce centers just like this," Parson said. "But we still have over 100,000 job openings in Missouri right now and giving people the opportunity to come here and go into the workforce, this is the way we're going to fill them."

Parson was joined at the opening by Bennett Boggs, commissioner of the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development who said partnering with Southeast Missouri State University increased the opportunities of the new job center.

"Part of the beauty of this being at SEMO is this is really a nexus of education and entrepreneurial areas where people can work on learning new skills, gain credentials and grow professionally and personally," Boggs said.

Julie Carter, interim director of Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, said staff at the job center will help people create resumes or gain interviewing skills, as well as connect them with training or apprenticeship opportunities.

"We have many workshops that will be offered," Carter said. "We will also have opportunities for employers to come in to do on-site interviews and talk to them about the importance of interviewing, as well as the jobs that are available in the community."

Carlos Vargas, SEMO's president, called the job center an "innovative partnership" to establish a "one-stop shop" to connect employers, entrepreneurs, students and job seekers with each other, and the multiple resources available at a "master's level comprehensive university."

"The Cape Girardeau job center at SEMO is an example of the university recognizing the importance of partnering to build Missouri's workforce for our rapidly changing economy," Vargas said. "We believe in the governor's goal of strengthening the workforce so Missouri can attract and retain businesses to the state.