OneKC WIRED Region Industry Profile

You may be interested in a new report that was jointly developed by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) and the Kansas Department of Commerce's Division of Workforce Development. Publication of the OneKC WIRED Region Industry Profile marks the first time information of this nature has been exchanged by both states for the KC region. The report provides an excellent snapshot of where the region is today - starting with overall data and then focusing on the three industry sectors targeted by the OneKC WIRED initiative (advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and healthcare). This is the first step in a process designed to assist area leaders in better understanding the region's economy ... and in communicating the OneKC story. It also provides a benchmark for many of the One KC WIRED initiatives. You can download a copy of the report by visiting www.OneKCWired.com and clicking on Resources.

Overview

In early 2006, the bi-state KC region was awarded a $15 million grant from the U.S Department of Labor to train area residents for careers in high-growth industries such as health care, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. The initiative receiving the grant, OneKC WIRED – Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development – will produce a more educated and qualified workforce to meet the needs of growing industries that rely heavily on math and science education. The Kansas City region was one of 13 across the country to receive an award.

Partners

• Kansas City Area Development Council
• Missouri Division of Workforce Development
• KS Dept. of Commerce, Division of Workforce Training & Education
• Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute
• Full Employment Council
• Alliance for Innovation in Manufacturing-Kansas City
• Kansas City Metropolitan Healthcare Council
• Workforce Partnership (Kansas Workforce Investment Board)
• Johnson County Community College
• Metropolitan Community College
• Partnership for Regional Educational Preparation (PREP-KC)

Impact for the Region

Building Capacity

Making It in KC program – expansion of an existing program at Metropolitan Community College Business and Technology Campus that prepares students for careers in advanced manufacturing.

Nurses Training and Retention Programs – the Kansas City Metropolitan Healthcare Council developed an innovative portfolio of programs designed to expand nurse training capacity and improve the number of nurses staying with the profession.

• Clinical Faculty Academy
• Simulator Initiative
• Nurse Preceptor/Mentorship Initiative
• Nurse Re-entry Initiative
• Financial Assistance for New Clinical Faculty

Creating Infrastructure and New Platforms

Regional Technology Transfer Network – a project designed to align current assets for technology transfer into a more efficient, user-friendly network to expedite new discoveries and innovations to the marketplace.

Animal Health Innovation Grants – a program fostering collaboration between university scientists and animal health/nutrition industry-based researchers to enhance the movement of technology to products.

Expanding Skill Sets of Current Workforce

Bioscience Career Training – provides advanced technical training offered to incumbent workers within the private life sciences sector through the University of Kansas Continuing Education Program.

Lifelong Learning Accounts (LiLAs) – often referred to as the “401K” for education, these accounts enable their owners to take advantage of educational opportunities to advance their careers.

Developing the Pipeline

A portfolio of programs focused on enhancing math and science skills in grades K-12:

Kansas City Science Initiative – a systemic science education effort providing modules for inquiry-based science learning in grades K-6

Project Lead the Way – provides a vehicle for introducing this rigorous, nationally-recognized pre-engineering curriculum into high schools in various districts within six metropolitan Kansas City counties.

PREP-KC (Partnership for Regional Educational Preparation) – an urban educational reform effort that leverages the Small Learning Communities at both major urban districts to provide enhanced exposure to career opportunities and experience within advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, and healthcare.

Johnson County Community College – creates a Center of Excellence for Bioscience to provide post-secondary training opportunities in the targeted industry sectors.

Thinking, Acting, Working, and Growing as OneKC

OneKC Regional Workforce Council – a consortium of the multiple local Workforce Investment Boards throughout the defined WIRED region focused on developing consistent services, best practices, common assessments, and developing a single brand.

Regional, Multi-industry Skills Gap Analysis – building from similar successful activities in advanced manufacturing, the Alliance for Innovation in Manufacturing-Kansas City (AIM-KC) will perform similar analyses for biotechnology and healthcare industry sectors.

OneKC WIRED Office / Internship Program – all administrative responsibilities and public outreach/education for the OneKC WIRED project will be performed by this group. Additionally, funds are designated to develop an infrastructure to support internships/externships in the three targeted industry sectors.

Impact for KCALSI

KCALSI submitted three specific projects consistent with current workforce development projects and collaborated on a fourth component that was shared by all three industry sectors. Brief descriptions of each component and budget requests are described below.

Expanding Opportunities in the Animal Health Sector – Animal health represents a sub-field with a competitive advantage as 26% of the world animal health market passes through companies in this region. Additionally, veterinary schools at Kansas State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia are nationally recognized for their quality research activities. KCALSI will utilize WIRED funding to foster and facilitate collaborations between research universities/institutes and private sector animal health companies through Innovation Grants ($450,000 over three years).

University of Kansas Training Program – Regional biotechnology companies have desperately sought specialized technical training for incumbent technicians and scientists. In response, the University of Kansas developed a biotechnology training program to provide continuing education opportunities for technicians and bench scientists in critical laboratory techniques and technologies, leading to an industry-recognized certification. The curriculum serves a dual purpose by providing under-served student populations with biotechnology skills training through a partnership with local area community colleges. The OneKC WIRED initiative will permit adaptation of these curricula for multiple training purposes and to develop additional curriculum to expand current training efforts ($268,000 over three years).

KC Science Initiative – Creating sustained interest in science, math, engineering and technology often occurs at the elementary school level and is nurtured during secondary school. Recognizing the current crisis in science education, local units of the Bayer Corporation (Bayer CropSciences and Bayer Animal Health) have proactively pursued systemic science education reform by partnering with the Kansas City Missouri School District and the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute. The partnership received $250K from the Bayer Foundation to expand the initiatives’ capabilities to eventually include all 42 elementary schools in the District. ($521,000 over three years).

Internship Institute - KCALSI has begun to explore establishing an Internship/Externship Program. This initiative will be designed to provide an opportunity for teachers, undergraduate students and high school students to gain a rich experience working in a life sciences’ setting. The program will be structured to ensure that interns are given a worthwhile opportunity to work alongside their professional mentors and staff. Interns will be given tasks that mirror their professional counterparts (within regulatory and work safety guidelines) to gain quality experience and a true understanding of the vast opportunities that reside within this ‘industry.’ Through the WIRED initiative, there is a unique opportunity to develop a core infrastructure supporting internships across biotechnology, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors, eliminating redundancies and maximal leveraging resources ($1.1 M over three years).