FEC is a strategic workforce organization and the Administrative Entity/Fiscal Agent of the Kansas City and Vicinity Workforce Development Board and the Eastern Jackson County Workforce Development Board serving five counties. FEC utilizes its diverse business model to assist local employers in both Kansas and Missouri in recruiting, training, and retaining skilled workers.
SnapIT Solutions is a Kansas City-based technology company providing software and hardware services and solutions. Its mission is to empower communities and bridge the digital divide. SnapIT creates access to affordable digital devices, provides on-the-job mentoring for youth working on real world projects and delivers employer-informed IT trainings.
TechHire communities build local networks of employers, education providers, and job seekers committed to hiring based on skills, rather than pedigree. In Kansas City, a partnership between the FEC, SnapIT Solutions and the University of Central Missouri (UCM) led to the development of an employer-informed training program delivered by SnapIT Solutions and supported by local employers.
These connections between workforce, employers, and educators help provide job seekers with clear pathways to employment. SnapIT Solutions grew from a company with just two employees to its current status as a rising IT firm with support from the public workforce system. Utilizing its multi-million dollar federal TechHire Grant, FEC funded 3 full time employees to participate in on-the-job training at SnapIT Solutions. One of the graduates of the customized Information Technology training course facilitated by FEC is currently teaching an introductory JAVA course as an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Central Missouri.
TechHire Kansas City is “the best initiative to help a growing business and reduce costs associated with hiring and training…”
Neelima says that she “has found TechHire Kansas City to be the best initiative to help a growing business and reduce the costs associated with hiring and training, but it also gives the ability to reach wider audiences for our job openings.” Neelima saw the potential for aligning her work with TechHire to help local talent “hone their existing skills to match market needs or add new skills via on-the-job training.” The partnership with the FEC helped solve some of the staffing issues she faced during the early stages of growing SnapIT.
TechHire partnerships are “an affordable and risk-free way to connect employers with their future employees that need an opportunity to work.”
TechHire employer partners like SnapIT exemplify the business case for skills-based hiring. For Neelima, TechHire partnerships are “an affordable and risk-free way to connect employers with their future employees that need an opportunity to work.” TechHire employer partnerships help close the skills and opportunity gaps — and benefit companies and job seekers alike.
One partnership at a time — such as the one between SnapIT Solutions, the FEC, and UCM — the TechHire movement for skills-based hiring advances.
This blog post is authored by Joseph Lawlor, Program Associate at Opportunity@Work.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for latest updates on TechHire.
For more stories, visit: https://blog.opportunityatwork.org/
