Dozens of mid-Missourians celebrated a fresh start Thursday at Job Point’s spring graduation ceremony — walking across the stage not just with diplomas, but with career-ready certifications in hand.
Students completed programs in high school equivalency, carpentry, heavy highway construction, CDL, HVAC and certified nursing assistant, or CNA, training. Many said these hands-on careers offer stability in a job market increasingly shaped by automation and artificial intelligence.
Tamara Minor, a graduate planning to enter the CNA field, said no machine can replace the personal care humans provide.
“I mean, even just as far as simply turning somebody over to change a diaper, I don't think a robot can do that by their self,” Minor said.
Job Point’s programs are designed with workforce demand in mind. Carrie Brown, YouthBuild manager at Job Point, said their training is based on real labor data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We are funded by the Department of Labor,” Brown said. “We get statistics that say what fields are really needing help … Construction is one of the main ones. People are just not getting into that field anymore.”
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She added that local employers — including Columbia’s city departments and regional construction firms — have come to rely on Job Point’s workforce pipeline.
“Emory Sapp has a base here, right? So we need to cater to that employer, just like a couple other construction sites we have here in Columbia,” Brown said.
“The city of Columbia — whether we want to say it or not — they always need employees,” she added. “They hire people too from us, so you can go to the city and get benefits and have a 401(k).”
As the capabilities of artificial intelligence grow, Brown said the careers Job Point prepares students for — including healthcare, infrastructure and transportation — remain difficult to automate.
“Well, I think AI can't build a house yet,” Brown said. “I mean, it might give you the diagram and the structure and the picture of what you tell it, but I don't think AI is ready to go out there and, like, build a house from the ground up.”
English (US) ·