Codefi Launches Make Missouri AI-Ready, a Statewide Initiative to Prepare Missouri's Workforce for the AI Economy

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Sept. 17, 2026 — The Codefi Foundation on Rural Innovation today announced the statewide launch of Make Missouri AI-Ready, an initiative to prepare Missouri's workers, employers, and communities for an economy being reshaped by artificial intelligence — by training the workforce the state already has.

The initiative answers two forces arriving at once. Missouri employers face a labor shortage that is structural, not cyclical: birth rates below replacement and a generational retirement wave mean the workers to fill open positions are simply not coming — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Worker Shortage Index counts roughly 87 available workers in Missouri for every 100 open jobs — and the squeeze lands hardest in rural and mid-market regions. At the same time, artificial intelligence has, within just the last few years, become usable by ordinary, non-technical workers — putting serious productivity tools within reach of the people already on Missouri payrolls for the first time.

“In a labor-short economy, AI is not how Missouri jobs disappear — it is how the work gets done when a position sits open,” said Dr. James Stapleton, President & CEO of Codefi. The workers who learn to direct these tools become the people their organizations cannot function without. Make Missouri AI-Ready exists to make sure those workers are Missourians, in every corner of the state.”

At the initiative's core is the Healthcare AI Integration Specialist Registered Apprenticeship, formally registered by the U.S. Department of Labor in May 2026 with Codefi as its registered sponsor. It is among the first registered apprenticeships in the nation for an AI integration occupation — and it is built, from the first hour of instruction, inside the real workflows of healthcare: clinical documentation, electronic health records, and the privacy rules that govern patient data. Apprentices earn a nationally recognized credential entirely on the job, drawing a paycheck the whole way. A supporting three-tier curriculum extends the same training to the broader workforce as incumbent worker training, with articulation pathways into the apprenticeship, and grant-funded scholarship access keeps the door open to eligible Missouri workers.

The pressure the initiative answers is documented in Missouri healthcare's own data: the Missouri Hospital Association's 2026 Workforce Report found hospital turnover rose to 23.7 percent in 2025 even as vacancies eased, with the hardest-to-fill roles being precisely those that require the most training and licensure.

Make Missouri AI-Ready is delivered in collaboration with statewide healthcare sectoral partners including the Missouri Hospital Association, Missouri Primary Care Association, Missouri Behavioral Health Council, and the Show-Me High Value Network, as well as local and regional partners — workforce development, chambers of commerce, colleges and universities, and economic development organizations.

The model is not limited to healthcare. Through the industry-agnostic AI Integration Specialist program, employers in any Missouri industry can bring the same pathway — from AI literacy to a credential earned without leaving the job — to their own workforce, with potential to extend into deeper industry-specific programs for manufacturing and agriculture. Individuals can enter directly through Codefi's AI training tracks for small business owners, founders, and career changers — including a self-paced version of the Make Missouri AI-Ready curriculum — at codefiworks.com/ai-training.

The initiative is deliberately aligned with Missouri's state leadership on artificial intelligence under Governor Kehoe's Executive Order 26-02, and with the Administration's Make America AI-Ready initiative and federal AI workforce policy. Missouri enters the effort with a genuine head start: the state ranks second in the nation for completed registered apprenticeships.

“Every employer in Missouri should hear this as an invitation,” Stapleton said. “Your next capability is already on your payroll. If you work in Missouri, the tools that will define the next decade of your field can be yours without stepping away from your job or your paycheck. And if you lead a community, a college, or an institution anywhere in this state, the network has a place for you.”

Employers, workers, and community partners can learn more and get involved at https://codefiworks.com/missouri-initiatives.

About the Codefi Foundation on Rural Innovation

The Codefi Foundation on Rural Innovation is a Cape Girardeau–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has spent more than a decade building Missouri's technology workforce and innovation economy, with a focus on rural and underserved communities. Codefi is the U.S. Department of Labor–registered sponsor of the Healthcare AI Integration Specialist Registered Apprenticeship and leads Make Missouri AI-Ready, the statewide AI workforce initiative. Learn more at codefiworks.com.

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Media contact

Shana Burden · shana@codefiworks.com · codefiworks.com · 573-837-4590