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Your workforce training partner

Workforce training is a topic on every business leader’s mind. As companies hire, they have the challenge of onboarding new employees, and ensuring these employees have the right skills for their job.

And let’s face it, employees are called upon to not only operate, but also to innovate, to keep driving the company forward. Training is a crucial (and often overlooked) component of a successful business.

Smart companies are leaning on the training capabilities of our community colleges. Community colleges are set up to work with individual businesses to customize training solutions that are right for unique scenarios. They have access to curriculum, training tools, and assessment capabilities, and can ensure that the employee has comprehensive skills to do the job at hand. The programs they provide are affordable on almost any budget. Many of these companies take advantage of workforce training funds, which helps to diffuse the cost of training for the business.

If you think this sounds too good to be true, read on for some local success stories from our workforce training division, Iowa Valley Business and Community Solutions (formerly known as Continuing Education).

JBS Swift & Co. hires employees that need a wealth of technical skills in order to be successful. They have worked with Iowa Valley to develop Industrial Maintenance training, which trains new maintenance workers on the technical concepts of hydraulics, pneumatics, electric motor controls, AC/DC, and PLCs. This program is designed to be self-paced so employees can schedule the coursework and lab time around their work schedules and differing shifts.

MARSHALLTOWN Company faced different challenges, and requested coursework in “Workplace Excellence,” which teaches the skills necessary to be a solid and strategic-thinking employee. The 11 employees that took part in the class were Customer Care Specialists, who learned soft skills necessary for success in a customer service position. Iowa Valley created and facilitated training around suitability, workability, reasonability, adaptability, communication, and respectability.

Jeld-Wen in Grinnell hires employees that need to have bilingual communication skills, so they work with Iowa Valley to provide ESL classes. The classes are held on-site several days each week.

River Valley Pipe in Iowa Falls works with Iowa Valley to provide Electrical Safety, Arc/flash training, as well as CPR and First Aid certification training.

In addition to partnering with local businesses, the workforce training division also works to prepare individual workers for career positions. Iowa Valley has a partnership with House of Compassion, IowaWorks and United Bank and Trust, to develop a new program: Workforce Ready: Accelerated Job Skills Training, which will begin on May 22.

The class will teach transferrable skills needed for successful job search and eventual employment. Students will learn resume writing and interview skills, among other things.

Workforce training doesn’t always wait until a student has crossed the graduation stage; it often begins as early as high school. Iowa Valley has developed a course, Exploring Careers, for high school students looking for job shadow opportunities.

This course was developed in partnership with Hansen Family hospital, Iowa Falls Alden Community School District, Ellsworth Community College and BCS. Students who participate in this course will have the ability to explore various departments within Hansen Family Hospital including Lab, Rehab Services (Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy), Family Practice Clinics, Surgery, Patient Access (Registration/Scheduling), Med/Surg Inpatient Unit, Emergency Room, Imaging Services (Radiology), and Cardiopulmonary (Respiratory Therapy).

As you can see, Iowa Valley is laser-focused on helping our local businesses succeed. Whether educating full-time students in our Ellsworth or Marshalltown classrooms, or training employees on the skills they will need to succeed in their positions, we work hard to provide the right education and training solutions at the right time.

If you are a business looking to provide workforce training to your employees, I would encourage you to contact Business and Community Solutions to see what we have to offer your business.

——

Dr. Kristie Fisher is the president of the Iowa Valley

Community College District.

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