KANSAS CITY, KAN. --- Young people in Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties had a jump-start into the work world by participating in the computer camp sponsored by Workforce Partnership and training provided by Kansas City Kansas Community College and Johnson County Community College.
Participants had a very special opportunity on July 19th when the camp was hosted by the Kansas City Startup Village for a firsthand look into the entrepreneurial life. Kansas City Startup Village is an entrepreneur-led, organic, grassroots initiative helping to bolster the Kansas City entrepreneur and startup community.
Campers had the opportunity to learn from a panel of Kansas City Startup Village companies which included Prodigy Arcade, Wings Cafe, Travelling Nuker, Leap2, Handprint, EyeVerify, Local Ruckus, and CyberJammer.
Students also had the opportunity to collaborate individually with the startups during a demonstration session and tour house to house viewing each startup’s work space. Resumes were passed out for employment and internship opportunities. Great connections were developed.
The computer camp devotes the entire day on Fridays toward connecting with employers in the community so that young people can visualize all the career options available to them.
The Kansas City Startup Village took on the very important task of ensuring that the campers were subjected to the start-up and entrepreneurial career pathway is an option for employment.
Throughout four weeks, computer camp participants learn to build a computer and understand its hardware and software, troubleshooting for any problem in the computer’s performance. They’ll also learn team-building and leadership skills.
Jay Matlack, workforce development coordinator for KCKCC, said “the goal of the program is to help young people prepare for the workforce and help connect them to the right people and jobs so that successful career pathways can be developed.
"The time spent at the Startup Village was a wonderful experience, allowing campers to view entrepreneurship as a viable career pathway if they so choose that route," Matlack said. "Kansas City is very fortunate to have a start-up community that is so supportive of the community and willing to devote time and energy to causes such as this one.”
