Iowa Employment Presenting Challenges And Opportunities
One of the many facilities at the new early childhood development center.
April 17th, 2022
Oskaloosa, Iowa – It’s been a part of the conversation around Iowa and the nation over the past year, hiring and retaining individuals at places of employment.
Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.3 percent in March of 2022, down from 3.5 percent in February which was down from January 2022.
At the beginning of March, William Penn University hosted an employment fair that helped to connect students and soon-to-be graduates with area employers.
Chad Sailors with Co-Line Manufacturing in northwest Mahaska County employs nearly 200 individuals and builds nearly 13 million parts for other manufacturers.
The self-described job shop does custom fabrication in materials like steel coil steel, utilizing such tools as flat laser, tube laser, hand or robotic welding, and stamping, among other things, to help fill customer needs.
Sailors says they are seeing an uptick in quality candidates applying to join their operation. “So it’s really working out well for us.”
They are seeing an increase in quality candidates due to word-of-mouth referrals from those already employed at Co-Line. “They really enjoy working there.”
Sailors says the culture at Co-Line helps them retain employees. “We have a culture that is just ingrained in our employees—that service-type attitude. Very servant-hearted. The teamwork, the camaraderie. It’s just something that we have in our people from the get-go.”
Zach Goering with Vermeer Manufacturing of Pella says that for them, they are growing faster than they ever have before.
It’s challenging to meet the economy’s demand with the available workforce, but Goering says they are getting high-quality candidates from the area.
But finding those people can prove challenging, and Vermeer is starting to look beyond the local area to help fill positions.
They are showcasing the benefits of living in Iowa and the local area to potential employees. In addition, they have enjoyed recruiting individuals from San Fransisco, Miami, and Houston to work in their Iowa facilities in recent months.
Things like the cost of living and quality of life are significant factors in helping to attract talent. “When we go out of state, we really talk about the values that we can provide families,” says Goering.
But some workforce segments have proven to be more difficult than others to attract and retain a labor force.
The Mahaska County YMCA and its early childhood development program continue to look for individuals who want to help shape its youngest citizens’ future.
Kathy Chamra is the Child Care Director for the Mahaska County YMCA.
Having spent her career in Child Development, her time at the Mahaska County YMCA “grew into a passion project.”
She says that she became passionate about the Early Learning Center and the many possibilities it would offer to help the youth in the area.
Wages for individuals in that field may not be as high as in other areas. Still, YMCA CEO Matt Larson points out that the State of Iowa has realized the importance of early childhood education and now provides state-funded recruitment and retention bonuses for those individuals.
“There is support coming from the state level that supplements a nonprofit worker’s wage to help get them to a much higher status,” explained Larson.
The early childhood development center in Oskaloosa has needs for full-time and part-time individuals and offers flexible schedules to help accommodate individual needs.
Without being fully staffed, the early childhood center, no matter how new, isn’t able to open two classrooms for the YMCA programs. “We’re working towards getting one of those open, but still not enough staff, and we are turning away kids in other classrooms because we don’t have the capacity right now for the staffing.”
Area colleges and universities have once again begun programs to help educate and place individuals that can help to fill those needed positions in early childhood development.
Larson added that they also welcome individuals with no background or education and will provide the curriculum to individuals who want to make a difference in a young person’s life.
The problem for nonprofits is being able to provide a competitive wage while also being able to welcome families that may not have the financial resources.
“Our mission is to provide a place of education for all individuals,” says Larson of the YMCA’s mission to the community.”
Larson admits that the work isn’t for everybody, “but we all know that is the most impactful demographic in anybody’s life” in reference to the young age of the students. “We’re here shaping people’s lives at an impactful age. It’s not for everyone, but for those who do it, they do find it enriching and rewarding.”
The YMCA encourages those that would like to learn more to visit the YMCA website – https://www.mahaskaymca.org/programs/child-care/ or to see what career options the Mahaska County YMCA offers, visit them at – https://www.mahaskaymca.org/about-us/careers/
