Talent Pipeline

With a significant workforce concentration in aerospace, automotive, and machinery and equipment manufacturing, the St. Louis region has the robust labor pool needed to support growing companies seeking a sustainable location to grow their business. The unique ecosystem supports manufacturing businesses at every level, from the shop floor to the C-suite.

  • 338,228 total jobs* within the Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Supportive sectors to Aerospace Manufacturing. This is a huge number and is actually higher than the total population of St. Louis City (298,018)
  • Aerospace Manufacturing’s Location Quotient of 3.80 is one of the highest across all industry sectors in the St. Louis, MO-IL region. This metric indicates the St. Louis region has nearly 4x more aerospace manufacturing employees than other similar sized markets, earning the region a ranking among the top 20 metros for aerospace employment.
  • Our aerospace manufacturing workers are nearly five percent more productive than the national average.
  • The region has a concentration in Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing and Nonferrous Metal Production and Processing with LQs of 2.2 and 2.75 respectively, providing an industry competitive advantage.

Source: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS); JobsEQ®, Q1 2024

*Total job number does not include the new jobs being added at Boeing, Gulfstream and West Star Aviation.

Three workers working on engines.

As new positions continue to open up in the region due to expansions underway by The Boeing Company, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., West Star Aviation and others, the St. Louis Regional Aerospace and Aviation Taskforce is working to continue to grow the pipeline of workers with skills specific to the aerospace and aviation industry. The intent is to easily connect individuals to the tremendous career opportunities in this vibrant sector by helping them to identify and pursue the education, certificates and apprenticeships needed to be part of this exceptional workforce.

Educational Programs

Program NameInstitution NameLocationAerospace core degrees and certificationsProgram/Training for Secondary and Tertiary JobsTraining Provider/Center of ExcellenceAges Open ToContactTitleEmailPhone Number
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering ProgramsSt. Louis UniversitySt. Louis, MOCollege age and olderSridhar Condoor, Ph.D.Department Chairsridhar.condoor@nullslu.edu314-977-8444
The Center for Academic and Vocational ExcellenceBelleville Township High School District #201Belleville, ILGrades 9 - 12Brian MentzerSuperintendentbmentzer@nullbths201.org618.222.8200
The Center for Workforce DevelopmentEast Central CollegeUnion, MOCollege age and olderTodd TracyDepartment Headtodd.tracy@nulleastcentral.edu636-649-5806
Workforce Development CenterMoberly Area CollegeMoberly, MOCollege age and olderKelsey BrownDepartment Chairkbrown@nullmacc.edu660-263-4100
Workforce Development CenterJefferson CollegeHillsboro, MOCollege age and olderLora WarnerDirectorlwarner@nulljeffco.edu636-481-3223
WeldingMineral Area CollegePark Hills, MOCollege age and olderLaura NorrisInstructorlnorris@nullmineralarea.edu573-518-2308
Aviation MaintenanceState TechLinn, MOCollege age and olderMatt FowlerDepartment Chairmatt.fowler@nullstatetechmo.edu573-897-5315
Boeing Pre-employment trainingSt. Louis Community CollegeFerguson, MOCollege age and olderBrittany AdamsDean STEMbbadams128@nullstlcc.edu314-644-9286
Workforce Development CenterFour Rivers Area Career CenterWashington, MOHigh SchoolJeanne Miller-WoodApprentishipjeanne.millerwood@nullsdowmo.org636-231-2100
Soar Into STEMWashington High SchoolWashington, MOHigh SchoolDr Jennifer KephartSuperintendentjennifer.kephart@nullsdowmo.org636-231-2000
NJROTC dronesWashington High SchoolWashington, MOHigh SchoolSr Chief Nathan HernandezCommandernathan.hernandez@nullsdowmo.org636-231-2200
Flight Simulator SolutionsBugeye TechnologiesUnion, MOAnyKyle ZickPresidentsales@nullbugeye.com636-257-3530
Aerospace Design EngineeringLMI Aerospace Sonaca GroupWashington,MOAnyKevin GoossensCEOkgoossens@nullsonaca-na.com636-231-4200
Precision Aerospace ManufacturingEnjet AerospaceWashington,MOAnyBruce BreckenridgeCEOinfo@nullenjetaero.com913-717-7396
AeronauticsSaint Louis University - Aviation ScienceSt. Louis, MOCollege age and olderStephen MagocProfessorstephen.magoc@nullslu.edu314-977-8333
Coming in 2026 - Aviation MechanincsCollinsville Area Vocational CenterCollinsville, ILGrades 11-12Joe McGinnisDirectorjmcginni@nullcusd.Kahoks.org618-343-6141
Master of Science Supply Chain Analytics ProgramUniversity of Missouri - St. LouisSt. Louis, MOCollege age and olderHaitao LiDepartment Chairlihait@nullumsl.edu314-660-8173
Graduate Certificate in Supply Chain ManagementUniversity of Missouri - St. LouisSt. Louis, MOCollege age and olderHaitao LiDepartment Chairlihait@nullumsl.edu314-660-8174
Boeing Center for Supply Chain InnovationWashington UniversitySt. Louis, MOCollege age and olderPanos KouvellisDirectorkouvelis@nullwustl.edu
WASHU Master of Supply Chain Management ProgramWashington UniversitySt. Louis, MOCollege age and olderOlinGradAdmissions@nullwustl.edu314-935-7301
WASHU Master of Science in Business Analytics - Supply Chain Analytics Focus
Washington UniversitySt. Louis, MOCollege age and olderOlinGradAdmissions@nullwustl.edu314-935-7301
Joint Engineering Program with WashUUniversity of Missouri - St. LouisSt. Louis, MOCollege age and olderJanet WildingAsst. Vice Chancellor, Economic and Community Developmentwildingj@nullumsl.edu314-516-4261
Coming in 2025: New School of EngineeringUniversity of Missouri - St. LouisSt. Louis, MOCollege age and olderJanet WildingAsst. Vice Chancellor, Economic and Community Developmentwildingj@nullumsl.edu314-516-4261
SOAR into STEMWings of HopeChesterfield, MOHigh SchoolLee Ann NolteEducation Programs Managerleeann.nolte@nullwingsofhope.ngo636-778-5487
ACE Academy - ORGANIZATION OF BLACK AEROSPACE PROFESSIONALSOBAP St. Louis Ace AcademySt. Louis, MOMiddle & High SchoolYolandea WoodAcademy Directoryolandea.wood@nullobap.org618-444-5925
Red Tail Youth Flying ProgramOBAP St. Louis Ace AcademySt. Louis, MOMiddle & High SchoolYolandea WoodAcademy Directoryolandea.wood@nullobap.org618-444-5926
Tuskegee Airmen Inc.OBAP St. Louis Ace AcademySt. Louis, MOMiddle & High SchoolYolandea WoodAcademy Directoryolandea.wood@nullobap.org618-444-5927
Aviation DegreesSouthwestern Illinois CollegeBelleville & Granite City, ILCollege age and olderCollege age and olderProfessorkeith.mueller@nullswic.edu618-235-2700,
ext. 5683
West Star Aviation AcademyWest Star AviationEast Alton, ILHigh School GraduatesKatie JohnsonChief People Officerkatiejohnson@nullwsa.aero800-922-2421
West Star Aviation AcademyWest Star AviationEast Alton, ILHigh School GraduatesDave LagermannRecruiterdlagermann@nullwsa.aero800-922-2421
Aerospace Engineering SpecializationSouthern Illinois University - CarbondaleCarbondale, ILCollege age and olderHossein EslamiatProfessorhossein.eslamiat@nullsiu.edu618-453-7910
Intro to Flight ProgramGateway Youth Aeronautical FoundationMaryland Heights, MOAge 14 - 25Joe SteinmanFounder and Presidentjoe.gyaf@nullgmail.com314-3999208

Research Programs

Program NameInstitution NameLocationContactTitleEmailPhone Number
AirCRAFT labSaint Louis UniversitySt. Louis, MODr. Srikanth GururajanAssociate ProfessorSrikanth.Gururajan@nullslu.edu314-977-8355

Other Programs

Program NameDescriptionLocationContactTitleEmailPhone Number
Wings of HopeWings of Hope is a global humanitarian nonprofit organization that has been helping the world’s most vulnerable communities since 1962. As our name suggests, we use our wings to connect people to the resources they need to meet their development goals.Chesterfield, MOAngela WallemanVice President & Director of Programsinfo@nullwingsofhope.ngo(800) 448-9487
AeroCareersAerosCareers, NFP is a not-for-profit charitable and educational corporation.
Our mission is Air and Space Career Education, Networking, and Mentoring
for those interested in exploring the many career opportunities in the Aerospace Industry
Millstadt, ILNick TurkCo-Founderturkaviation@nullcs.com618-530-0805
Gateway Youth Aeronautical FoundationThe Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation's mission is to inspire youth interest in aviation. The goal is to be that “one event experience” that proves to be pivotal in changing a youth’s life forever. The Foundation attracts and nourishes that interest in aviation with actual aircraft cockpits, virtual reality flight simulation, group STEM activities and flight opportunities provided through the EAA Young Eagles Program.Creve Coeur, MOJoe SteinmanFounder and Presidentjoe.gyaf@nullgmail.com314-399-9208

While the programs above are geared specifically toward careers in the aerospace sector, the St. Louis region also is well positioned to help companies in that sector and others access needed supplies and get their final products to their end destinations. To ensure the region’s continued strength as a global logistics hub, various other programs are available to expand the logistics and supply chain workforce. Learn more at the links below:

We have over 3,000 Gulfstream aircraft flying around the world today. As our fleet continues to grow, it is necessary that we expand our facilities and customer offerings. The greater St. Louis region is an area we’ve strategically identified to further invest in to support this growth. The local workforce and partnerships we’veestablished are invaluable. The strong relationships that we currently have with local educational institutions, Bi-State Development, local government and community leaders, and the phenomenal group at the St. Louis Downtown Airport have certainly contributed to our decision to continue to expand here.

Anthony “Tony” Ray
Vice President and General Manager St. Louis Completions, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.