MKE Tech News
Issue 30 - April 16th, 2021
MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
One of the early decisions of the Coalition was how to measure the macro economic progress towards the goal of doubling tech talent in the Milwaukee region. CompTIA Cyberstates was chosen as an inclusive view of tech companies and tech jobs and the 2021 report was released last week. Read an analysis of the WI tech ecosystem which written for the Wisconsin Tech Council and listen to the quick insights on Milwaukee’s tech ecosystem in 2020, in the year of a pandemic. --Kathy Henrich
Coalition Updates
Membership Updates
This month, we’d like to welcome a new Bronze member, Johnson Financial Group, and several new Community members including August BrownNew Resources ConsultingWisconsin Veteran’s Chamber of Commerce and Visit Milwaukee. We so fortunate to have their passion which fuels our mission. Come join us! 
Bold Vision
Showcasing Milwaukee as a Tech Hub
Milwaukee Business Journal Announces Inaugural Tech Award Winners 
The MKE Tech Hub Coalition is proud to sponsor the Milwaukee Business Journal’s inaugural Tech Awards and extends a congratulations to all of the winners. The awards showcase area companies and individuals who are playing an important role in driving innovation and tech in our area. Check out all of the winners and learn more about how Milwaukee is a part of a new wave of rising Midwest tech communities.
New: Why Milwaukee for Tech on mketech.org (Check it out here) 
A new page was launched as a landing spot for recent advertising around tech in Milwaukee in Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. This advertising leveraged the Advancements TV show which originally aired in November. Check out the new page and share with friends considering moving to Milwaukee. 
K-20
Developing and Retaining the Next Generation of Tech Talent
To stay up to date on K-20 subcommittee priorities and progress, please check out our web page.
MKE Tech Talent Accelerator –
Student Applications and Mentor Registrations are now being accepted! 

The MKE Tech Talent Accelerator is designed to advance early tech talent through connected experiences for college students, educators, and employers. THANK YOU to the planning team as well as all of our program partners.
  • College Pre-Internship: Ethics and Impact of Data and AI.  Students will meet virtually on Wednesdays throughout the summer.  While all students are eligible to apply, priority is being given to students from underrepresented groups and/or who have a qualified referral.  
  • Mentorship Opportunity: Professionals who would like to mentor a small group of students are invited to register HERE. An informational meeting will be held from 12-1 on 6/2/21.   
  • Save the date: Registration for the Educator In-Service (July 8th) and Tech Career Expo (9/14) will be live by 5/1/21.
“Early Talent” Community of Practice Formed 
This new community of practice will advance employer practices in hiring, retaining, and developing early talent to address projected shortfalls across high demand skill areas identified by Coalition workforce data. This group will also inform and support the Coalition’s K-20 Committee roadmap for 2021 and beyond. It will be led by Rockwell Automation and includes representatives from Northwestern Mutual, American Family, Kohl’s, etc. Please contact Marie E. Olmsted at meolmsted@ra.rockwell.com if you are interested in getting involved.
  • GM-STEM Ecosystem News: Those who participated in the landscape analysis should have received an invite to the “Share Out” Event on 5/18/21.

  • WI State Plan for CS Education:  The State of WI plans to release the plan by Fall of 2021.  This is extremely important for Wisconsin!!!  CESA1 (Education Service Agency serving SE WI) will be in a position to offer CSforALL SCRIPT training to district teams in this same timeframe.

Re/Upskilling
Developing new sources of talent while demonstrating a value for diversity and upward mobility
To stay up to date on Re/Upskilling subcommittee priorities & progress, please check out our web page.
Employer Champion Network Launches in May 
Workforce projections indicate that the region will be unable to address the projected shortfall in talent supply without leveraging non-traditional talent sources. This was the reason for the development of the ‘Preferred Reskilling Provider Network’ and the launch of Tech Apprenticeships in SE WI in 2020. The Employer Champion Network is comprised of employers who are already, or plan to, hire from non-traditional talent sources in 2021 or 2022. These leaders will confirm requirements, evaluation criteria, metrics and perceived barriers so that we can grow capacity in a manner that meets member employer needs. If you are interested in having your organization involved, please contact LauraS@mketech.org.
  
  • Reminder: Member organization pledges for software developer/analyst apprentices are due by 6/31/21 to receive priority for employer incentive funds made available by the State of WI.
Coalition Receives Grant to Launch Upskilling Proof of Concept 
The Coalition has received a grant valued at $48,000 from Udacity to help identify requirements and considerations for a scholarship program to directly address the workforce data shared with members last month.  We will be leveraging this gift to advance of our work within the Re/Upskilling committee in partnership with the Reskilling Provider Network.
Startup
Leveraging cross-industry partnerships to accelerate start up growth and innovation
Thank you to the FOR-M
Grant Award Committee:

The MKE Tech Hub Coalition, in collaboration with the WEDC will be awarding 8-12 businesses from the FOR-M program with grants between $5,000 and $10,000 to advance product or service development and grow their teams. As a part of this effort, we recruited a committee of investors to inform grant decisions and provide valuable feedback to all applicants. We thank them for their expertise and willingness to be a part of the FOR-M community!
FOR-M Program is seeking mentors: Diverse skills and backgrounds (sign up here)
The Spring 2021 cohort of FOR-M is in full swing with nearly 40 founders learning vital entrepreneurship skills. To support their journey, the program is seeking mentors from a variety of backgrounds to meet with the founders and offer their skills and expertise. The mentor network is growing and can be a great place to form new relationships across the city. You can learn more about the program and mentorship on the FOR-M website.
Northwestern Mutual and Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin announce ‘Reverse Pitch MKE’ competition winners (Read More)
 
The two finalists taking home the top prize include Ease Inc., a remote recruiting and freelance talent software platform, and LENA, a personal health assistant for seniors, powered through AI. Each startup will receive a seed investment of up to $90,000, a $10,000 cash prize, co-locating space and up to $2,000 in legal fees provided by Godfrey & Khan S.C. A third startup, TimeSlips, a coaching and training business providing online tools to senior caregivers, also will receive a $10,000 cash prize. All three will gain access to corporate mentors and networks to help take their emerging businesses to the next stage.
Congratulations to our Reverse Pitch High School winners
On April 8, six high school and two middle school teams responded to Northwestern Mutual and Froedtert’s Reverse Pitch challenges. These teams from MPS and other SE Wisconsin districts impressed the judges with their practical approaches to solving the problems and use of advanced technologies. We want to thank all of the mentors, sponsors (Northwestern Mutual, Froedtert, and The Milwaukee Bucks), and especially, our partner, Young Enterprising Society (YES!) for helping these students develop technological and entrepreneurial skill sets. Congratulations to all the winners who received cash prizes, internships, and scholarships for ongoing development.
Success continues for Socialeads who also raised 1.75M in November 2020.
Attraction and Retention
Attracting and Growing Tech Jobs in the Region
Powderkeg: Claim your culture profile for recruiting (Get Started Today)
MKE Tech Hub Coalition has partnered with Powderkeg to showcase Milwaukee as a tech hub. This will include creating a Tech Hub profile AND adding Milwaukee as a searchable location. If you hire tech talent (startups, tech firms, established corporates), you can claim a company culture profile to showcase your organization’s employer brand, solutions, career opportunities, etc. In doing so, you’d also be helping the Coalition increase the visibility of Milwaukee. There is no cost to create the culture profile.
Milwaukee ranks #3 for remote workers (Read More)
Milwaukee continues to top the lists for remote workers. Combining metrics on home values, recreation, amenities and culture, Milwaukee ranks #3 for Best Places to Work Remotely. According to this list, our midwestern city has a little bit of everything: Two professional sports teams, two prominent art museums, three distinguished universities, a handful of well-known beer producers (including MillerCoors) and a number of popular parks.
LinkedIn Releases Updates Net Migration Data (See the full data)
LinkedIn's new Net Migration study shows Milwaukee as #7 for "net migration in" during the pandemic (through 2/2021). More people are discovering what people here already know - Milwaukee is a great place to live and build a career.
Coalition Members in Action
News
Northwestern Mutual's Neal Sample Honored as Technologist of the Year. Read more.
 

The Milwaukee Business Journal honored 11 Milwaukee-area companies and individuals as part of its inaugural Tech Awards. Among the winners, Northwestern Mutual’s Chief Information Officer Neal Sample was chosen as “Technologist of the Year” for activating teams and collaborating with leaders across the company to onboard new technologies who would connect clients, advisors and employees in new ways, as well as accelerate transformation timeliness and technology capabilities to improve the digital client experience. In all, the Milwaukee Business Journal received nearly 50 nominations for the program. Profiles of the winners will be included in the publication's April 16 issue. 
Three more Dev10 Cohorts Underway! 

The Dev10 team has been busy interviewing and hiring future Software Developers and Data Professionals! In the past month they have hired teams into their full-stack Java training, full-stack .NET training, and the inaugural Data Professional training. Once again the Milwaukee Region has delivered incredible talent that Dev10 reskills with in demand skills to help our Employers! If you are interested in learning more about the Dev10 Program please contact jturnquist@dev-10.com
 
"More than a year after the pandemic hit, some basic trends have emerged in the economy. Here are two: Many tried-and-true ways of doing business have changed for the foreseeable future and clever innovators are turning disruption into gain. Business and societal problems (and related opportunities) that cried out for attention before COVID-19 haven’t gone away." 
Cheers to 30 Years! 

In July, we are celebrating our 30th anniversary at nvisia! 30 years makes us veterans in the technology space. Different than other consulting firms, nvisia's consultants average 15+ years of experience. Like and follow us on Linkedin as we start to reveal our consultants by posting value based content on all things technology. 
Check out the article from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel featuring the MARS Returnship program. We are elated to be able to help people in the community successfully return to their tech careers! To find out more about the program and get involved, visit marsreturnship.com
Resources & Opportunities

Are you looking for a fun, engaging way to keep your kids active this summer while learning? Do you want to introduce a child to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), or encourage an interest they have shown? We have curated a list of local STEM programs for you to investigate to see if this is the right one for your child or students.
Ovation brings employee rewards and recognition to the highest level, encourages employee engagement, inclusion, and innovation. It is uniquely simple to use, customizable, and easy to manage. You can automate rewards and recognitions within the application to celebrate achievements and milestones like birthdays and work anniversaries. It has an integrated store with an extensive database of products for employees to shop.
Women in Technology, Wisconsin, Inc. (WIT) is a non-profit organization aiming to attract, grow and retain women of all ages in technology-related careers in all industries. We look forward to all summer has to offer, *hopefully* planning an in-person event or two. Follow us to keep up with the happenings!
Events

Join New Resources Consulting in the next installment of their Educate and Connect series as Rob Kuenn, NRC’s Senior Solutions Consultant and Carrie Schonhoff, AVP of Business Analysis at QBE Insurance discuss the Roadmap to Success in an Agile Environment. The April 29th webinar will touch on the transformation strategy needed for an Agile environment, the key benefits to a Scrum framework, and the culture shift required throughout the organization to ensure that Scrum has been successfully implemented. Register here.
Carroll University Invites You to Several Upcoming Events:

This event discusses managing the number of potential duplicate patient records within an electronic health record system using an example of an enterprise project where the goal was to combine three electronic health record systems into a single system. 

This conversation discuss the many types of data that are captured from Major League Baseball teams and the analytical capabilities needed to paint a comprehensive picture of each fan.

Advancements in technology have changed the way we communicate, and dramatically increased the amount of data we can explore. This event explores simple approaches to understanding context, narrative development, and simplification that will help you get the most out of your data visualizations.


CWIT-WI Wisconsin Affiliate is pleased to announce that Holly Baumgart, VP of Information Technology, Sargento Foods, and Bridget Quinn, Regional Affiliate Manager, NCWIT, are the keynote speakers for the Wisconsin 2021 Aspirations in Computing Virtual Awards event on Sunday May 16, 2021 from 2-3:30 p.m. We are very excited to have two accomplished women presenting, encouraging, and inspiring the wonderful group of young women who will be honoring that afternoon for their own accomplishments. The future looks very bright for these #girlsintech who aspire to become #womenintech.

Join the founders of Bopdrop, Debtle and Chasing Paper as they discuss their journeys from innovative ideas to operating businesses and share lessons learned along the way.
 
Featuring guest speakers:
  • Matt Krause, Bopdrop, Founder
  • Stephanie Hoskins, Debtle, Co-Founder, CEO
  • Elizabeth Reese, Chasing Paper, Founder

Milwaukee area employers are invited to meet their next great hire from i.c.stars |* MILWAUKEE's training program. This event will take place on Zoom. Candidates will be ready to meet with prospective employers in Zoom breakout rooms each day Mon 5/17 - Wed 5/19 from 9am-11am & 1-3pm.
Marquette University Hosts PUMP-CS Summer Professional Development Programs
Please encourage the educators in your networks to register for free summer programs that allow them to become comfortable with how to leverage computer science curricula materials, CS content, and pedagogy across K-12 grade bands and curriculum areas. Great way to support CSTA and ISTE standards K-12. All programs use freely available curricula and tools. These programs support teachers with diverse teaching backgrounds. No prior CS experience is required. Code.org Computer Science Discoveries and Principles alumni are also invited to an Extended Learning Program to be held June 22-24, 2021. Contact Katya Winkler at code@marquette.edu for more info. 
Demystifying ICHRA (Register Here)
If you’ve been wondering how Individual Coverage HRA plans are working in real life, join us on April 26th at 1:00 PM CT for a practical look into the zizzl Health experience in Wisconsin. Learn how employers are evaluating and preparing to transition from a traditional health insurance plan to an ICHRA, how employees and insurance carriers are responding, what to expect once it’s in place, and developing trends.
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