LinkedIn like tool aims to address tech talent gap by connecting teachers, industry pros
July 21, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Kansas City Tech Council and Blue Ocean Consulting have teamed together to create a software solution to address the talent gap in the tech industry.
iSpeakSTEM.com is a proprietary software system that aims to build a bridge between the business and education communities. Launching in Kansas City classrooms this fall, the software connects teachers with industry professionals, their network and resources.
After beta testing the software, Liberty Public Schools administrator Colleen Jones said that iSpeakSTEM offers teachers simplicity and convenience.
“It reminds me of a LinkedIn tool for education,” Jones said in a release. “You’re able to see potential speaker’s profiles, find out where they work, and review a brief write up of their experience. I don’t have to beat down doors of companies and beg to get someone to come in and meet with our kids. They come to us.”
The tech industry is responsible for nearly 100,000 jobs in the Kansas CIty economy and the industry is growing. Currently, the demand for tech jobs far outweighs the supply of talent. In May, the KC Tech Council released a report stating that in 2016 there were 4,699 open tech jobs in Kansas City that have yet to be filled.
KC Tech Council president Ryan Weber said that iSpeakStem will fill the gaps, allowing Kansas City to continue its growth as a tech hub.
“It’s a fact that across the nation, we’re facing a shortage of tech skills,” Weber said in a release. “So it becomes our responsibility to increase the number of students we reach every year in order to bridge the gap.”
The technology will integrate STEM education into elementary, middle and high school curriculum. Blue Ocean Consulting President Scott Carson said that iSpeakSTEM platform offers educators the resources they seek.
He believes that getting more educators into the classroom will help students.
“There are so many professionals out there who are untapped but willing to get in a classroom and share their knowledge and information,” Carson said in a release. “It makes the process and the connection much more efficient for both teachers and business leaders. By opening this door and connecting these two worlds, we’re certain it will lead to increased opportunities and possibilities for these students.”
iSpeakSTEM will launch in Kansas City area classrooms this fall. For more information, visit the website here.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
New investor report: Women-led startups more likely to get angel support than VC backing
Angel investors support 10-times more women-led companies than venture capital-backed investors, revealed a first-of-its-kind report by the Kansas City-based Angel Capital Association. “It didn’t shock us,” said Marianne Hudson, executive director of the ACA, the world’s largest cohort of angel investors. Hudson cited previous ACA research that indicated 21 percent of angel investors had been…
KC Bier Co. brewing regional expansion one tap handle at a time, founder says
Rapid growth in the craft brewing market has tapped out, said Steve Holle, founder of KC Bier Co. A solid understanding of the reasons behind such an overdraught industry has so-far saved the Kansas City-based, German-style brewing company from being caught in the same weeds as recently closed Manhattan-brewed competitor, Tallgrass Brewing Co., Holle said.…
Former school principal’s SafeDefend active shooter system installed at Jewish Community Center, target of 2014 Overland Park shootings
Every student, teacher and staff member deserves the greatest opportunity to get home from school safely, said Jeff Green, founder of SafeDefend. Green’s security solution — an active shooter response system that sends alerts throughout a school community, as well as detailed information to law enforcement, within seconds of an incident — recently was installed…
H&R Block must reconnect with startup energy, innovation, CEO Jeff Jones says
Jeff Jones’ journey to Kansas City — winding through hangouts with popstar Justin Timberlake, dinner with Oprah, and a stint driving one of the world’s most dominant sharing economy companies — has been transformative, the H&R Block CEO said. And if the homegrown corporate juggernaut he now leads is to meet its stretch potential, the…