New Jobs for Missourians

Missouri has been awarded a 1.3 million dollar federal grant to create temporary humanitarian jobs aiding the state’s response to the coronavirus.

Doctor Mardy Leathers, the director of the Missouri Office of Workforce Development, says the jobs could range from health care, contact tracing and delivery services, to transporting equipment.

So what kinds of jobs? The director told News Talk KZRG, “Contract tracing is certainly a priority. It’s a statewide priority right now,” he says. “So that would definitely be on top of the list. I think the other one is there’s just a big demand for supporting work like delivering groceries, medicine, meals.”

“The way the grant is funded – we’re able to accommodate 30 temporary positions and then another 70 Missourians can enroll in a training program,” he says.

 “The kind of training that it will be supportive of this type of work,” says Leathers. “So, if there’s some warehousing and logistics training, if there is OSHA training – Occupational Safety training – there will be opportunities for that. There’s actually even opportunities for entry-level health care work, such as certified nurses aides.”

The jobs are expected to pay around 20,000 dollars each and last about six months. The positions will be advertised locally and through jobs.mo.gov