Menu
The Nebraska Tech Collaborative (NTC) – an Aksarben workforce initiative – is business-led, and comprised of over 100 business, government, education, and non-profit partners all working together to drive results and scale to build a world class tech ecosystem in Nebraska.
Tech jobs are found in every company and industry sector. Agriculture, Nebraska’s biggest industry, has a significant tech component and is a huge growth sector for careers in tech. But tech jobs in Omaha, Lincoln, and Nebraska have grown more slowly than other, similar cities and states. The tech sector is the fastest growing sector in the country and world. But the reality is that the fastest-growing sector is leaving and will continue to leave Nebraska behind if we don’t act now.
The NTC is going to work to increase the number of tech jobs in Nebraska by 10,000 and the number of new tech companies in Nebraska by 300 by 2025. We need everyone involved – businesses, government, educators, non-profits – all working together as one with one message to drive scale.
We are currently collecting data on the number of tech jobs open in the state, types of tech job openings; reviewing education levels for each job; compiling data on compensation for tech jobs; reviewing incentives from other states for tech start-up funding; and defining what it is included in the tech community for jobs. Our goals and metrics are:
In April 2019, the first “Tech Talent” meeting was convened by a group of business leaders concerned about the availability of recruiting and retaining a high skilled workforce. It was held at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, NE. This was a day of venting frustrations and brainstorming solutions.
The NTC officially launched in October of 2019 with a press conference at University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) Innovation Campus to announce the initiative and the selection of a President, Jona Van Deun. For nearly a year, businesses, government, educators, and non-profits, all interested in addressing our tech talent workforce issue have met to develop creative solutions to solve our ecosystem challenge.
With research underway on Nebraska tech jobs, necessary credentialing to fill tech open positions, and compensation comparisons with comparable states, we’re confident we can become more competitive in the retention and recruitment of tech workers.
Join our effort and tell others!
Founded in 1895, Aksarben is a unified network of business and community leaders committed to preserving and expanding prosperity in our heartland communities through advancements in education, workforce development and civic projects born from effective private, public and philanthropic partnerships.
