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
Why underserved founders shouldn’t patiently ‘wait their turn’; Pipeline Pathfinder applications close Nov. 9
Editor’s note: Pipeline is a financial supporter of Startland News. Pipeline’s new Pathfinder program is accepting applications through Nov. 9. Click here to apply. Proof points long used to indicate a startup’s readiness to scale or raise capital favor white, male-led companies, said Melissa Vincent, stressing traditional markers like even a founder’s ability to dedicate…
Startup’s tech hits Hallmark shelves with video greeting cards; partnership ‘worth the wait’
Kansas City creative giant Hallmark’s newly announced line of video greeting cards is more than a one-of-a-kind product innovation — it’s the outcome of an extended startup partnership that was years in the making, Laura Steward said. “In 2015, we won a Launch KC grant,” recalled Steward, founder and CEO of Kearney, Missouri-based VideoFizz, describing the…
Why this KC couple will be lifting a celebratory ‘Dirty Sunrise’ when GEWKC drops anchor
The married duo behind Anchor Island Coffee already knew they’d have to defy expectations for their tropical-themed breakfast spot to succeed on Troost. And then came COVID. “Just two weeks after we opened in March 2020, we closed,” said Mike Hastings, who owns the shop with husband Armando Vasquez. “By May, we were able to…
New in KC: Hollywood veteran designs animation academy to make young artists more hirable
Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what they’ve found so far in KC. This series is sponsored by C2FO, a Leawood-based, global financial services company. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. A touch of Hollywood…