Collaborative event connects education and business leaders in an effort to create a robust IT workforce supply in Kansas City.
NetStandard announced today it will gather key business leaders, educators and government representatives to address the region’s weak university and college output in Information Technology (IT) graduates[1]. As U.S. IT employment grows at twice the rate of the overall job market, hitting an all-time high last month[2], the Kansas City area is below par in IT grad output. NetStandard leads a consortium, initially launched as FiberKC, that will coalesce in May to begin to identify solutions to this area workforce deficit.
“All businesses consume IT and Kansas City IT employers are already poaching resources from each other, limiting the ability for current and new area businesses to grow,” says Jeff Melcher, CEO of NetStandard. “To promote area business growth, we must create a steady stream of new and relevant IT job candidates. The easiest and most sustainable way to do that is through an increasing supply of local IT graduates that meet business needs.”
The event, Roll Call: KC’s IT Workforce, will be hosted by H&R Block on May 8th and has received support from key participants such as NetStandard, Cerner, VML, KCNext: The Technology Council of Greater Kansas City, and the Mid America Regional Council (MARC). Attendees include area businesses and IT hiring influencers, the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Park University, Johnson County Community College, representatives from the K-12 sector and others.
The work session will address three key initiatives:
- Increasing the number of local K-12 and post-secondary students pursuing technology careers
- Better aligning area educational output with business needs
- Generating resource commitment among stakeholders to support the ongoing initiative
Attendees participating in Roll Call: KC’s IT Workforce will dedicate a half day to the work session for brainstorming ideas that can position Kansas City as a prime hub for IT workforce development. The event has attracted approximately 60 community leaders willing to contribute actionable ideas.
Roll Call: KC’s IT Workforce follows a FiberKC event held this past January that featured a panel discussion of IT hiring influencers from NetStandard, Cerner, VML, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Board of Public Utilities and Greentree/AB Pathfinder. Monitored by Stacey Cameron of KCTV5, the panel discussion identified the gap between business needs and educational output for IT jobs as a key issue for Kansas City’s technology community. The event, held at Boulevard Brewing Company, attracted a sold-out audience of approximately 180 attendees.
For more information or to inquire about participating in the event, please contact Terri Sallaz at tsallaz@netstandard.com or 913-428-4258.
About NetStandard Inc.
Established in 1996, NetStandard Inc. is a leading information technology business and data center headquartered at 2000 Merriam Lane in Kansas City, Kansas. NetStandard is a full service technology solutions company that delivers IT managed services, virtual machines, cloud computing platforms and data center facilities to small and mid-sized companies. NetStandard is also a nationwide cloud services provider delivering virtual server systems and applications to small and mid-sized businesses. For more information, visit www.netstandard.com or call 913-262-3888.
[1] “IT Market View: Top Domestic IT Locations.” Tim Nitti, KLG Advisors, 2011. www.klgadvisors.com
[2] “IT Job Growth Strong in March; Hitting Another All-Time High.” TechService Alliance, Press Release, 4/9/12
