Recent legislation, Section 167.902 RSMo, requires that the department of economic development shall annually identify occupations in which a critical need or shortage of trained personnel exists in the labor markets in this state.  

Additionally, each high school shall provide its students with the information before November first of every school year. 

The most recent list of high demand occupations is found below.  You may also access the list at:  https://dese.mo.gov/media/pdf/high-demand-occupations

Approved by OWD 9/2023 High-Demand Occupations for the FY 2025 Enhancement Grant The following occupations were identified from using the Long Term Occupational Projections 2020-2030 for Missouri. The data was extracted from the MERIC website. https://meric.mo.gov/workforce-research/occupational-projections. The Long-term Projections (Statewide-MO All Occupations) information was used to determine the high-demand occupations list. Only occupations receiving a MERIC grade of "A" or "B" were considered for this list. Regardless of grade, any occupation listed as requiring less than a high school diploma and listed as only short-term on-the-job training were not be eligible. The level of formal educational attainment required, as identified through MERIC data, may not exceed an associate degree to be listed as high-demand. 

1. Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technicians 

2. Agricultural and Food Science Technicians 

3. Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians 

4. Architectural and Civil Drafters 

5. Audio and Video Equipment Technicians 

6. Automotive Body and Related Repairers 

7. Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics 

8. Billing and Posting Clerks 

9. Brickmasons and Blockmasons 

10. Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists 

11. Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters 

12. Calibration and Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other 

13. Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians 

14. Cargo and Freight Agents 

15. Carpenters 

16. Chefs and Head Cooks 

17. Chemical Technicians 

18. Childcare Workers 

19. Civil Engineering Technicians 

20. Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators 

21. Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 

22. Commercial Pilots 

23. Community Health Workers 

24. Computer Network Support Specialists 

25. Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators 

26. Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers 

27. Computer Systems Analysts 

28. Computer User Support Specialists 

29. Construction and Building Inspectors 

30. Construction Laborers 

31. Cooks, Fast Food 

32. Cooks, Short Order 

33. Customer Service Representatives 

34. Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 

35. Dental Assistants 

36. Dental Hygienists 

37. Dental Laboratory Technicians 

38. Detectives and Criminal Investigators 

39. Diagnostic Medical Sonographers 

40. Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance 

41. Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technicians 

42. Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers 

43. Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers 

44. Electricians 

45. Electro-Mechanical Technicians 2 Approved by OWD 9/2023 

46. Elevator Installers and Repairers 

47. Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics 

48. Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining 

49. Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 

50. Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians  

51. Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers 

52. Firefighters 

53. First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers 

54. First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers 

55. First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers 

56. First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers 

57. First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers 

58. First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers 

59. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers 

60. First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives 

61. First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers 

62. First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers 

63. First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling 

64. Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors 

65. Food Service Managers 

66. Glaziers 

67. Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists 

68. Health Information Technologists, Medical Registrars, Surgical Assistants, & Healthcare Practitioners, AO 

69. Healthcare Support Workers, All Other 

70. Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers 

71. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 

72. Helpers--Pipe layers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters 

73. Helpers--Production Workers 

74. Highway Maintenance Workers 

75. Home Health and Personal Care Aides 

76. Industrial Engineering Technicians 

77. Industrial Machinery Mechanics 

78. Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other 

79. Insulation Workers, Mechanical 

80. Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks 

81. Insurance Sales Agents 

82. Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers 

83. Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses 

84. Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other 

85. Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers 

86. Loan Interviewers and Clerks 

87. Locomotive Engineers 

88. Machinists 

89. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists 

90. Maintenance and Repair Workers, General 

91. Maintenance Workers, Machinery 

92. Massage Therapists 

93. Medical Assistants 

94. Medical Dosimetrists, Medical Records Specialists, and Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other 

95. Medical Equipment Preparers 

96. Medical Equipment Repairers 

97. Medical Secretaries

98. Millwrights 

99. Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators 

100. Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 

101. Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engine 3 Approved by OWD 9/2023 

102. Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic 

103. Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 

104. Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 

105. Nursing Assistants 

106. Occupational Therapy Assistants 

107. Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 

108. Ophthalmic Medical Technicians 

109. Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics 

110. Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders 

111. Paralegals and Legal Assistants 

112. Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators 

113. Pharmacy Technicians 

114. Phlebotomists 

115. Physical Therapist Assistants 

116. Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters 

117. Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers 

118. Police, Fire, and Ambulance Dispatchers 

119. Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education 

120. Production Workers, All Other 

121. Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks 

122. Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers 

123. Psychiatric Technicians 

124. Radiologic Technologists 

125. Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters 

126. Real Estate Brokers 

127. Real Estate Sales Agents 

128. Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians 

129. Registered Nurses 

130. Respiratory Therapists 

131. Sales Representatives, Services, All Other 

132. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products 

133. Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers 

134. Security Guards 

135. Self-Enrichment Education Teachers 

136. Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 

137. Sheet Metal Workers 

138. Social and Human Service Assistants 

139. Structural Iron and Steel Workers 

140. Surgical Technologists 

141. Surveying and Mapping Technicians 

142. Teacher Assistants 

143. Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers 

144. Tool and Die Makers 

145. Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers 

146. Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers 

147. Veterinary Technologists and Technicians 

48. Web Developers and Digital Interface Designers 

149. Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers 

150. Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Occupations that are highlighted are new to the high-demand occupations list in FY 2025 (no highlights as no changes occurred from FY 2024).