The Human Capital Oversight Committee continues to stay very busy and productive, honing its focus on Alignment – education, job opportunities and people; Attraction – new and retained talent; and Access – making programs, education and job opportunities inclusive and available to all.
Year One Recommended Strategies for Implementation:
- TIE (Talent-to-Industry Exchange) – Two industry sectors have been targeted for the TIE initiative in 2016 – Life Sciences and Design + Construct. Outreach is going on now with the Design + Construct Task Force to identify points of contact to assist with the four step process: Labor and Economic Analysis, Postsecondary Education Asset Inventory, Business Engagement through an industry survey and facilitated conversations, and creation of an Action Plan. The Life Sciences TIE is developing quickly, completing its Labor and Economic Analysis, and Postsecondary Education Asset Inventory to determine the gaps between hard to fill positions and degree programs available or planned.
- KC Scholars – KC Rising is supporting the KC Scholars program at the Kauffman Foundation, a brand new $79 million college scholarship program launched on September 29. Members of the KC Rising Human Capital Oversight Committee are represented on the planning and implementation committees and KC Rising is engaged with the marketing and promotion of the program. KC Scholars is a critical solution for low to moderate income metro residents in the effort to support both traditional college degree attainment and adults returning to college. Read more in the Kansas City Star and Kansas City Business Journal.
- KC Degrees – KC Rising is supporting the team which provides oversight and direction for the KC Degrees project. A network of 17 higher education partners have been established and will meet quarterly through September 2017. The postsecondary network is made up of regional public and private not-for-profit institutions that are considered feeder schools to Kansas City employers. A project manager and three College Success Navigators have been hired and are currently being on-boarded. Once training is complete, the College Success Navigators will be embedded in the community in places like job centers and libraries in order to reach adults with some college but no degree. A regional communication plan has been established with public advertising scheduled to begin in October. KC Degrees is the community based support for KC Scholars adult students and the two initiatives are closely aligned.
- Talent Attraction Toolkit – This program continues to support small to mid-size companies in the KC region with free tools to use in attracting new talent to job opportunities in the area. The Toolkit is a sampling of products available through TeamKC, a program offered to members of the Kansas City Area Development Council. KC area ratings and rankings, video and a gallery flip book of dramatic black and white photos profiling KC’s most creative individuals, is complemented by a list of tools for recruiters to connect job candidates to information about KC’s lifestyle and business community. The pages have been visited by more than 600 individuals since launching in February.
Emerging Strategies: There has been additional progress on a number of emerging strategies including efforts to create a Common Sector Competencies Model, and programs targeted at university graduate retention through Gateways KC which is part of the national Gateways for Growth initiative. In September, Gateways KC hosted a large public meeting that shared data around the economic impact of retaining students from other places that come to school in Kansas City. There were approximately 125 in attendance. This was followed by a lunch meeting with university partners. A steering committee is in place. Other emerging strategies include establishing a National Career Readiness Credential (NCRC), K-12 STEM benchmarks and teacher professional development, and a system approach to expanding experiential learning opportunities.