KellyOCG(R) Announces Partnership with B~STEM Project

TROY, MI--(Marketwired - June 09, 2016) - It's not news that there is a shortage of skilled science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) talent in today's workplace. What is news is the number of young women who drop out of these subjects starting as early as middle school and continuing into high school. Recent research has shown that among high school students, a fewer percentage of girls are interested in pursuing STEM careers than boys.¹ And in college, the trend continues with women holding a disproportionately lower share of most STEM undergraduate degrees.²

For these reasons, KellyOCG is proud to announce its partnership with the B~STEM Project, a national organization that focuses on engaging young girls and women in business and STEM-related disciplines across various industries.

On June 24 and 25, B~STEM Project is hosting a "virtual hackathon," powered by Microsoft and in collaboration with KellyOCG, that includes a multi-city, one-day product development and design business incubator inside Microsoft stores. High school and college participants will work together in teams to develop, design and pitch their products to a panel of industry experts. Each location will recognize two winning teams (one high school team and one college team), and two teams will also be named a national winner at the conclusion of the 48-hour virtual event. In addition to the incubator, a coding workshop will be offered three times throughout the day for girls ages 8 - 13.

The one-day product incubator is being held in select Microsoft store locations in Chicago, Metro-Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City, San Diego, and San Francisco. Each incubator is opened to the first 30 high school and college students who register while each of the three coding workshops are open to 10 students, ages 8 - 13. To register, please visit wehacktoo.org.

"If we are to make a dent in the STEM talent gap, we need to mentor and guide young women now," said Linda Stuit, vice president of Global Solutions for KellyOCG. "In addition, organizations need to make it a priority to eliminate bias and barriers, to deliver top-down support and institutional accountability."

"The B~STEM Project needs the support of the business community to provide resources and expertise required to deliver sustainable, scalable youth development programs," said Tracie Dean Ponder, executive director of The B~STEM Project. "KellyOCG understands the demand for skilled talent and through their expertise, we hope to increase the pipeline of women trained in STEM related disciplines and help prepare them for successful careers."

The B~STEM Project

B~STEM Project is designed to educate young girls and women about the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math in business and everyday life. We take an interdisciplinary approach by integrating STEM into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real world application in all professional industries.

KellyOCG

KellyOCG^®, the outsourcing and consulting group of workforce solutions provider, Kelly Services (KELYA, KELYB), is a global leader in integrated workforce solution delivery. KellyOCG consults with clients worldwide providing customized, holistic talent supply chain management solutions in the areas of strategic workforce planning, workforce analytics, candidate experience, employer branding, enhanced services, and talent sourcing. In addition to providing integrated workforce solutions, KellyOCG specializes in recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), business process outsourcing (BPO), contingent workforce outsourcing (CWO), career transition, executive search, and executive coaching and development. Please visit KellyOCG.com for additional information.

Microsoft Store Locations

Westfield Century City 10250 Santa Monica Blvd #1045, Los Angeles, CA

Westfield Topanga Canyon 6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Canoga Park, CA

Fashion Valley Mall 7007 Friars Rd #324, San Diego, CA

Westfield San Francisco Centre Space 257, 845 Market St, San Francisco, CA

The Somerset Collection Space U213, 2800 W Big Beaver Rd, Troy, MI

Oakbrook Center 49 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, IL

Fifth Avenue 677 5th Ave, New York, NY

Footnotes

1. ShapingOurFuture.org, "STEM Interest Trends," ongoing https://shapingourfuture.org/Trends

2. ASEE, "Engineering by the Numbers," by Brian L. Yoder, Ph.D.