From Classroom to Jobsite: Workforce2030 Conference Charts Path Ahead

Date Posted: September 25, 2025

Posted In: Workforce,

Missouri business, education, and workforce leaders will gather next month for the annual Workforce2030 Conference, hosted by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Oracle Innovations Campus in Kansas City.

The two-day event, scheduled from Oct. 21-22, will feature more than 18 breakout sessions, six keynote addresses, and three dedicated program tracks focused on Education, the Future of Workforce, and Human Resources. The agenda highlights pressing issues such as child care as workforce infrastructure, healthcare pipelines, AI in recruitment, and strategies for developing leadership talent.

Keynotes Across Both Days

Headlining the conference is a roster of nationally recognized speakers:

Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, president & CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, will deliver the opening keynote.
A luncheon fireside chat will feature Kara Corches, president & CEO of the Missouri Chamber, alongside Ashli Watts, president & CEO of the Kentucky Chamber.
Melissa Robbins, CEO of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, will close the first day with a keynote on aligning workforce and economic development.
On Wednesday, Chad Carden, president of The Carden Group, will speak on navigating change for better results.
Natalie Lewis, COO of Great Jobs KC, will highlight the return on investment of workforce partnerships.
The conference will conclude with a panel, Moving from Passive Consumers to Active Creators of Talent, moderated by Kevin Fudge of American Student Assistance with panelists from Mazuma Credit Union, CAPS Network, and PrepKC.

Breakout Highlights

Breakout sessions will bring together experts from across Missouri and beyond. Topics include:

Career and Technical Education with DESE leaders Chrissy Bashore and Lori Brown.
Healthcare workforce pipelines with the Missouri Hospital Association.
Pre-apprenticeship programs with MDHEWD and Missouri Works Initiative.
Child care as a workforce necessity, led by Child Care Aware of Missouri.
AI and higher education with Google’s Victoria Spielberg.
Employment law and Proposition A with John Marino of McMahon Berger.
Recruiting for the workforce of 2030 with the efactory.

Registration and Costs

Registration is open at mochamber.com. The fee is $325 for Missouri Chamber members and $425 for non-members; meals and networking opportunities are included.

Organizers say the Workforce2030 Conference serves as both a networking hub and an action forum, aligning employers, educators, and policymakers around practical steps to build and sustain Missouri’s workforce for the decade ahead.