Wichita City Council members have agreed to provide $150,000 in funding to help with a study that will look at the future of work and the future of the workforce in south central Kansas.

The study is being conducted by the Greater Wichita Partnership, which will be working with the firm of Deloitte Consulting to develop a strategy for meeting workers’ needs and the needs of companies in the Wichita region.    GWP president Jeff Fluhr said the goal is to help workers prepare for the evolution of their jobs, and he said 8 out of 10 workers feel they are not prepared for the future.   Fluhr said this is an opportunity for the Wichita area and Kansas to be positioned as a leader in workforce development.   He said with new technology and other changes, it has been estimated that over 97 million new jobs will be created in the U.S. in the coming years.

The GWP is also getting $150,000 in funding from Sedgwick County, with a vote by county commissioners on Wednesday to approve the funding.   The GWP will also get support from the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas on the study.

The city plans to use funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to help with the study, but if final ARPA regulations won’t allow that use, the city will use funding from its economic development fund.