KC Tech Council’s apprenticeship program launches with job growth hopes from Davids, Cleaver
January 27, 2021 | Startland News Staff
A freshly launched partnership between KC Tech Council and Apprenti — designed to cultivate tech skills and offer first-hand experience for apprentices — is a solid fit for Kansas City’s talent needs, two members of the metro’s U.S. congressional delegation agreed.
“I truly believe that entrepreneurship is baked into the DNA of our region,” U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, told an online audience Tuesday. “I’m so glad that we have organizations like Apprenti recognizing that investing in the entrepreneurial spirit we have here is so important … I’m optimistic that this is going to be a big benefit not just for Kansans but for the employers in the third congressional district in the metro area.”
Davids, who represents Kansas’ third district, sits on the House Small Business Committee and previously founded an entrepreneur-focused podcast, “Starty Pants.”
Click here to read more about how the KC Tech Council hopes its partnership with Apprenti will help fill 4,000 vacant tech positions.
Erin Christensen, KC Tech Council, Apprenti
“We all know that two of the biggest challenges facing the tech industry are a lack of talent, but also a lack of diversity. … With over 70 percent of our apprentices being women, veterans and/or people of color, Apprenti has a proven model for diversifying tech talent across the country,” said Erin Christensen, KC Tech Council’s program manager for Apprenti, on Tuesday during the organization’s online “Tapping into Talent” event.
Joining Davids with a pre-recorded video, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, said the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession it caused mean Kansas City needs a strong tech workforce and innovative training programs more than ever.
“As the representative for Missouri’s fifth congressional district and as a member of the House Financial Services Committee, I’m always on the lookout for new and promising developments that demonstrate economic progress for my district,” Cleaver said. “Apprenti certainly seems to fit that bill.”
Bringing the program to Kansas City feels like a “homecoming,” said Jennifer Carlson, co-founder of Apprenti and an Overland Park native.
Click here to watch the full online event.
By Tuesday, Apprenti had already gathered 160 applicants for Kansas City’s tech market, Christensen said. Employers are excited to engage the potential apprentices in areas ranging from cybersecurity to software development, according to event speakers from such organizations as BARR Advisory and CertTech.
“Some of [the applicants] are from Kansas and Missouri. But a good chunk of them — because we are just now doing our official launch — are from other markets [and] are interested in coming to Kansas City,” she noted. “Imagine the opportunity to not only cultivate local talent but also relocate talent to Kansas City.”
For more information on how a businesses can partner with Apprenti, or how individuals can sign up for an apprenticeship, email Christensen at: Erin@kctechcouncil.com
Featured Business
2021 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Tees to NFTs: Why the designer behind one of KC’s most iconic young brands is testing the waters of crypto
Blockchain’s rise is sending a wave of change crashing over far-ranging industries — and a Kansas City-based design and branding studio is ready to hang ten, its founder said. “I saw it as an emerging market of opportunity,” Ocean and Sea’s Brendan O’Shaughnessy told Startland News, detailing the popular design firm and clothing brand’s nose dive…
Yelp for DEI: New tech gives public a tool to share discrimination concerns in real-time, empowers companies to monitor, improve
Aishah Augusta-Parham’s tech platform has a goal rooted in impact: help business owners become more mindful of diversity, equity, inclusion efforts in their day-to-day operations — better ensuring their customers do business with companies and brands that embody shared values. “We are the Yelp of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Augusta-Parham said, detailing the mission behind…
Dough-re-mi: Choir teacher’s pop-up pie hustle bakes her second verse from scratch
On any given weekday, Ann Lewis Marzette can be found in the classroom, teaching and training students in the Kearney Middle School choir. But when the clock strikes 3 p.m., she trades sheet music and scales for mixing bowls and measuring cups, embracing a side hustle that has her singing dough-re-mi — while customers serenade…
Return on investment: Why the co-founder of tech giant Dropbox just donated $500K to Blue Valley schools
Blue Valley schools, teachers, and students are expected to benefit greatly from a newly announced fund launched by the homegrown Johnson County tech entrepreneur who later co-founded the cloud storage giant Dropbox. Arash Ferdowsi, a 2004 graduate of Blue Valley Northwest High School, has put up $500,000 to launch the Arash Ferdowsi Fund, which benefits…