Tech company, The Nerdery, announced Wednesday it plans to hire 100 workers in the next five years.
The Nerdery calls itself the best place for nerds to work. It launched in 2003, when a group of self-proclaimed nerds wanted to start a company that was a place where nerds want to work. It’s a custom web development company that has three goals for the Kansas City Community.
“One, we want to ignite and engage the local technology community,” said company president, Tom O’Neill. “Two, we want to build a platform for creating jobs. And three, we want to create the best place in Kansas City for nerds to work.”
Right now, The Nerdery has 33 employees in the brand new Kansas City office, but it hopes to expand and bring on 100 more in the coming years.
“Nerdery is incredibly grateful for the amazing things that you guys have offered us in support and generally speaking, the open arms of the KC community,” O’Neill said.
The Nerdery is one of many companies choosing Kansas City for a new home.
The Kansas City Area Development Council is celebrating a record year in terms of new businesses and job growth.
“We've recruited over 3,800 jobs to the Kansas City region this year, 24 companies have decided to move here,” said Tim Cowden, senior vice president of business development.
Cowden adds the Kansas City workforce serves as a big incentive for businesses.
“We have a terrific workforce here so the workforce is speaking loudly and clearly that this is a great place to do business,” Cowden said.
The strong workforce has been evident to David Keimig, vice president of operations for Aviation Technical Services.
“It's been very positive. There have been a lot of people we've hired in this local area, and they all have great attitudes and come with experience too,” he said.
Aviation Technical Services is a Washington-based company that does maintenance work on commercial aircraft. Kansas City is the only business location outside of Washington State.
In addition to the Midwestern work ethic he’s seen, Keimig said Kansas City had a geographic incentive.
“It's a great location,” he said. “It's centrally located in the United States, three hours from any corner of the U.S. so it's great for our customers.”
Since the hangar near Kansas City International Airport opened in March 2014, Aviation Technical Services has hired around 150 employees. Last month, it announced a new contract with Southwest Airlines, so it wants to hire another 200 employees by next June.
“The opportunities here are pretty phenomenal, and they've shown me that in the short amount of time I've been here,” said Chahta Morris, a lead mechanic with Aviation Technical Services.
Morris relocated to Kansas City in September to start his job. He said location was a big factor in his decision as well.
“Being here in the Midwest, we really like it,” he said. “That's why we took this opportunity with this company and it's made a big difference on family life.”
Cowden said from a recruitment standpoint, Kansas City is as hot as the Chiefs right now, and he sees more growth in the future.
“Kansas City has a tremendous vibe right now and that vibe is attracting many people from across the country and around the world,” Cowden said.
Learn more about job opportunities at The Nerdery and Aviation Technical Services.
