Christopher Cook
Stories by Christopher Cook
Educators And Execs Welcome Workforce Development Collaboration
“Our students are not widgets!” Certainly that is the sentiment of educators who see business involvement in schools as “putting in orders” for workers. Yet that refrain might be less common in an era when the whole notion of career and technical education is evolving way beyond shop class. Maybe that’s because each side understands…
Blue Collar Jobs Make (Lots Of) Cents
What would you say to making $18 per hour after less than half a year of postsecondary training? Or $35 an hour in a union job? Those aren’t hypotheticals. Workforce experts say those jobs exist in the Kansas City area, and workers are in demand. One of the biggest hurdles in matching people with those…
Climbing The Career Ladder
There is a lot of talk in workforce development circles about “middle skills” jobs, career opportunities that fall between minimum-wage positions and others that require at least a four-year degree. But Ryan Meador has a different phrase for that wide swath of workers in the center of those two occupational poles. He calls them the…
Schools Tackling the Soft Skills Deficit
Educators around the region are implementing project- and career-oriented learning to engage kids. But in the Center School District, at least, another key constituency is excited too. Neal Weitzel is the director of college and career readiness in the district, which is located in Kansas City, Missouri, and he recounted parents’ reaction at a recent…
Benchmarking Success
Creating an Austin, Texas-type buzz in the Kansas City area means establishing the 21st century workforce that can succeed in the 21st century workplace, said Sheri Gonzales Warren, an economic development official with the Mid-America Regional Council. “If we do a good job of this,” Gonzales Warren said, “ this would be one of those…
Making The Case For ‘Workforce Development’
Is it possible to establish a link between the U.S. civil rights movement and the fall of the Berlin Wall? You can, as it turns out, when it comes to job training and career readiness. The video above traces that history, and brings into focus the nebulous term “workforce development.” This introductory piece kicks off…
Define Yourself: The Iway Family, Part 4:
Doctors Olivia and Belino Iway came to the United States in 1974 from the Philippines on student visas, carrying $200 in their pockets and three young children to care for. After Belino completed his medical residency in New York City, where their fourth child was born, the family was invited to move to Elkhart, Kansas,...
Being Filipino: The Iway Family, Part 3
In this edition of Your Fellow Americans, the Iway family discusses what their Filipino culture means to them as the talk about dance, education, and finally understanding their parents. How does the American Dream look different for children and adults? Why does the United States put such an emphasis on doing what makes you happy?...
American Dreaming: The Iway Family, Part 2
Doctors Olivia & Belino Iway came to the United States in 1974 from the Philippines on student visas, carrying $200 in their pockets and with three young children to care for. After Belino completed his medical residency in New York City, where their fourth child was born, the family was invited to move to Elkhart,...
Immigrant’s Sway: The Iway Family, Part 1
“I believe when Americans see that laws aren’t being followed – not just immigration laws, but other laws – it frightens people. And when people are frighten they tend to show it, and it can come off as being racist.” – Danny Spurlock, son-in-law of Olivia & Belino Iway — Doctors Olivia & Belino Iway…