Black & Veatch investing $50K in CAPS network, hoping to unite corporate champions amid lagging labor market
June 7, 2022 | Startland News Staff
One of the earliest supporters of the Center for the Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) is stepping up again to set the tone for foundational corporate backing as the Johnson County-spun experiential learning effort scales across North America.
CAPS announced Monday a $50,000 investment from Black & Veatch to further long-term employment solutions for the engineering and construction industry. With the investment, Black & Veatch joins the STEM-focused CAPS Network Council of Champions as its inaugural CAPS Network Engineering Champion.
“Starting in 2009 when the CAPS model was in its infancy and operating in one location, Black & Veatch was one of its first corporate partners,” said Corey Mohn, the president and executive director of the CAPS Network. “The company’s leadership and employees have proven over and again their commitment to career-connected education. This partnership will ignite powerful connections between professional engineers and students who will be their future colleagues.”
Supporting CAPS’ work is expected to help Black & Veatch — a Kansas City-based global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with revenues of more than $3.3 billion in 2021 — address key industry challenges, as well as opportunities created by globalization and evolving technology, Mohn said, specifically noting job openings left unfilled and critical skills lacking in the labor market.
Click here to read more about Black & Veatch’s support for the Ignition Lab at Operation Breakthrough.
The CAPS Network is a 501c3 nonprofit organization focused on paving the education-to-employment path through profession-based learning. Programs that affiliate with the CAPS Network share best practices and connections with professional partners, post-secondary institutions, teachers and students. CAPS Network membership currently includes 81 affiliate programs across 21 states and three countries.
Click here to learn more about the CAPS Network.
The CAPS Council of Champions is a select group of industry advocates and community-driven national and global organizations. As a CAPS Network Engineering Champion, Black & Veatch is committing to partnership in the work of expanding profession-based learning to deliver experience to as many students as possible, regardless of their backgrounds or locations.
The Council of Champions’ goal is to unite meaningful brands across industry sectors to make a significant impact on behalf of students, teachers and community partners.
“For more than a decade, CAPS has demonstrated the inherent value of partnering business professionals with kids in helping those students achieve their dreams,” said Patty Corcoran, chief human resources officer at Black & Veatch. “This latest investment in CAPS strengthens that commitment to tomorrow’s young professionals.”
Black & Veatch’s participation in the CAPS Council of Champions includes opportunities for the company’s professionals to work with engineering instructors from across the CAPS Network to influence and support work with students, mentoring and client-connected project work directly with CAPS Network students, and providing guidance, advice and support to the work and vision of the CAPS Network.
Clint Robinson, a Black & Veatch associate vice president for government affairs who served on the Blue Valley (Kansas) School District board when that system became the first to adopt CAPS in 2009, was instrumental in shaping the company’s involvement, Mohn noted.
Click here to read about Black & Veatch’s involvement in the first class of corporate leaders who signed KC Rising’s CEO-to-CEO Challenge.
2022 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
What does the NFL Draft mean for KC? 10 FAQs about the biggest nonsport sporting event in America
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. Football excitement in Kansas City won’t be over once the confetti gets vacuumed up…
Children’s book tells KC entrepreneurs’ stories; challenging traditional pathways to success
Christle Reed wants Kansas City’s next wave of potential business builders to know they needn’t be bound to a mainstream plot line for wealth and happiness, the entrepreneur-turned-author shared. Her new children’s book about more than a dozen local entrepreneurs could help rewrite that narrative. “College isn’t the only way to success for kids,” she…
In the field: Industry-specific, hands-free voice tech helps ‘hero up’ data collecting workers
After years of research, Bruce Rasa and his team identified a consistent pain point for field workers: capturing data on-the-go and looping it back to their headquarters. They need a co-pilot, he said, noting the role played by KC-based Dexer (formerly AgVoice), agriculture’s first handsfree data capture service to help cross-industry specialists create records —…
New city flag designed for KC’s now (and tomorrow): Here’s where you’ll see it flying first
Kansas City is ushering in an era of growth and development, Jared Horman said, and the unveiling of a new municipal flag is just the way to recognize this new chapter. “The timing feels particularly exciting with the Chiefs headed to the Super Bowl, the opening of the new terminal at the airport and the…