The Northwest Kansas Economic Innovation Center, Inc. (NWKEICI) is spearheading an initiative called “Rural & Remote” with the goal of connecting residents in Lincoln County and other northwest KS counties to job opportunities elsewhere in the region, state and country. *Please note, this posting is not regarding a specific existing job opening but rather promoting the Rural & Remote initiative that helps individuals through the process of finding remote-work opportunities. If you are interested in a remote-work career and don’t know where to start, this program can be key to your success.
The Rural & Remote program is able to assist individuals with varying degrees of experience in these categories:
- Computer Science (Software Developers, Coders, Programmers, etc.)
- Experienced – Individuals have a computer science-related degree and/or the job experience proving readiness for full-time, remote-work employment. The Rural & Remote program will provide job placement support. If an individual does not have remote-work experience, an internship may be recommended initially.
- Aspiring – Individuals who would like a career in a computer science-related field. The Rural & Remote program offers an online academy (Nspire Labs Coding Academy) resulting in students receiving a full stack web development ruby certification. A person can attend the academy as either a part-time or full-time student. Grant funding or financing may be available to help with tuition; however, you MUST live in Lincoln County or another northwest KS county to be eligible for the assistance. After successfully completing the academy, Rural & Remote will help with job placement support, first through internships and then for full-time employment.
- Professional Jobs (Finance, Legal, Medicine, Marketing, Education, etc.)
- Experienced – Individuals have a professional degree and/or the job experience and credentials proving readiness for full-time, remote-work employment. The Rural & Remote program will provide job placement support. If an individual does not have remote-work experience, an internship may be recommended initially.
- Aspiring – Individuals who are working on their degree and would like to work remotely after graduation, the Rural & Remote program will provide internship placement support.
- Support Jobs (Executive Assistant, Customer Support, Data Entry, etc.)
- Experienced – Individuals have a degree and/or the job experience and credentials proving readiness for full-time, remote-work employment. The Rural & Remote program will provide job placement support. If an individual does not have remote-work experience, an internship may be recommended initially.
- Aspiring – Individuals who are working on their degree and would like to work remotely after graduation, the Rural & Remote program will provide internship placement support.
The Rural & Remote program is a systematic approach to connecting individuals with remote-work experience and job opportunities. The approach has four steps. Individuals will either need to go through all steps or could potentially skip one or two depending on their level of experience. The steps are:
- Application – Purpose is to get a full understanding of your background, experience and career goals to develop an individualized plan for moving forward that could include the remaining three phases listed below or it could show you could skip a phase.
- Training – Purpose is to prepare an individual for remote work by getting appropriate certifications. For those who are interested in computer science, an online academy (Nspire Labs Coding Academy) is offered that will result in students receiving a full stack web development ruby certification. For those interested in the professional or support jobs, a remote-work certification course will be offered to help you prepare for a remote-work career. Scholarships to cover tuition to both programs may be available.
- Work Experience/Internship – Purpose is to provide real world remote-work experience in order to boost an individuals resume and be more competitive for remote-work job opportunities.
- Job Placement – Purpose is to connect individuals with job opportunities. As with any job, individuals will still be required to apply for jobs by submitting resumes, interviewing, etc. and companies will still only hire the best candidates for the opening; however, the Rural & Remote program offers individualized support to help you prepare and put your best foot forward.
An informational meeting was held in August to discuss the details of the Rural & Remote program. Audio of the meeting is below. (We apologize for forgetting to hit ‘record’ at the very beginning of the meeting. A portion of the program’s background has been cut off but nothing of significant value was missed.)
Listen to the audio recording of the Rural & Remote meeting:
If you are interested in remote-work employment, please fill out the “Contact Us” form at the bottom of the Rural & Remote website.
*Please note, this posting is not regarding a specific existing job opening but rather promoting the Rural & Remote initiative with the goal of connecting people to remote-work opportunities.
