Agbiotech and St. Louis Community College

Agriculture--the word invokes fields of wheat, vines of tomatoes, bales of hay--doesn't it? But agriculture is much more than that today, and the field of AgBiotech is growing so fast there are not enough graduates to fill the job openings. These jobs can be found in labs, or at a desk with a computer, and don't involve weeding. For example, according to the attached file from KCUR 89.3/NPR, Corteva Agriscience has 100's of jobs, and many do not require a four-year degree. The article also says that agricultural economists at Purdue University have analyzed online jobs in agriculture and found that two-thirds are in metropolitan areas, not farms.

One community college program in St. Louis, the St. Louis Community College's Center for Plant and Life Sciences, is trying to help with the worker shortage by training students to work in labs. A recently published report (see attached file: St. Louis Inno--, and the St. Louis Biosciences Labor Market Analysis) shows that roughly 50% of the expected jobs in the St. Louis commercial biosciences workforce will not require a four-year college degree, with the highest concentration of middle-skill jobs in the biomanufacturing field with roles such as packaging machine operator and chemical equipment operator.  

For more information about agriscience, and the St. Louis biosciences job outlook, take a look at the attached files and access the St. Louis Biosciences Labor Market Analysis, published by local innovation hub BioSTL.