By Maria Carter
Kansas City, MO – Education is the key to keeping the Kansas City economy healthy. That's according to U-S Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. She was in town for a conference that brought some 36-hundred educators and workforce specialists to Kansas City. Chao says in the coming decade engineers, teachers, and nurses will be in short supply.
Elaine Chao: "Employers in the high growth, high demand sectors of the economy offer jobs and solid career paths for workers. But one of the challenges they face is a shortage of workers with the education and skills required for these good paying jobs."
Chao says the federal government spends some 15 (b) billion dollars on work force training but more of the money needs to be spent on computer and high tech training. Chao was also joined by the governors of Kansas and Missouri who discussed regional workforce efforts.