North Kansas City to Offer Students New Opportunities to Learn Trade and Tech Skills
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Google is setting a new precedent in supporting the local educational landscape with plans to put a sizeable amount of money into growing tomorrow’s workforce. The global tech giant plans to inject $100,000 into the development of a center for trade skills in the North Kansas City School District.
This timely investment comes in the face of an increasing labor shortage within trade sectors across the city, an issue that Google aims to help tackle.
Facing the Labor Shortage Head-On
Businesses across North Kansas City are increasingly struggling to find skilled labor, particularly in the trade industry. Northtown Auto Clinic was among the few that agreed to discuss the issue due to heavy industry workload. They shared their growing concern regarding the shortage of technicians in their industry.
“There has been a technician shortage in our industry for the last 30 years,” said Erin Hall, front desk manager for Northtown Auto Clinic. This gave an implication of the long-standing nature and extent of the labor shortage issue.
High School Education and Beyond
Northtown Auto Clinic believes that the solution to this problem lies within the educational system. The lack of trade-related subjects in the curriculum often leads to a lack of interest and training in these fields.
“When I was coming out of high school it was always go to college, get that degree no matter what it is,” Hall explained in recounting her own experience. “And you’ll make $100,000 a year and it was certainly not that.”
This presents a significant opportunity for change and growth within the current system. With the planned contributions from Google, North Kansas City Schools hope to alter this trend.
Introducing the “STEAM Center”
Using the donated funds from Google, the North Kansas City School district will establish a new training center. The “STEAM Centre” will provide high school students with the opportunity to acquire a variety of trade and machinery skills. The center is an abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
“This STEAM Lap will have the Google Career Certification lab, a digital media studio, an innovation fab lab, virtual reality career exploration lab and much more, ” Superintendent Rochel Daniels proudly announced.
Filling the Labor Gap
Industry insiders like Erin Hall and her team are excited about the new opportunities these will offer for young people. They believe that this kind of training and exposure can be instrumental in attracting more youth towards technology and blue-collar jobs.
“You’re going to be set up to do any blue-collar technical field,” stated Hall optimistically. “Whether that is being an electrician, plumber, engineer, or designer. You’re going to be set because you’re going to have a great foundation.”
The specifics of the new STEAM Center such as its location and opening date are yet to be announced by the North Kansas City School District. However, it’s safe to say that this initiative may be stepping stone towards the betterment of the North Kansas City labor market.
