Iowa’s Community Colleges: Helping Iowa workers and Iowa businesses
Iowa Senator Tom Rielly (D)
Iowa’s lack of skilled workers is our biggest challenge when it comes to jobs.
Forbes says Iowa is #13 in terms of overall business friendliness, but we are 40th when it comes to labor supply.
Fortunately, Iowa’s community colleges are nationally recognized as leaders at helping families get ahead.
Iowa’s community colleges already work closely with Iowa businesses. Our community colleges provide the skilled workers Iowa businesses need to grow and expand.
That’s why we should ask our community colleges to do more, not to do less or to raise tuition.
I’m concerned that the administration is proposing to cut our investment in community colleges by a total of $6 million from last year.
The cuts would hit worker training efforts especially hard, including a $2 million cut in the Workforce Training Fund and a $5 million cut to the Accelerated Careers Education (ACE).
Rather than asking community colleges to do less by CUTTING them, we should ask them to do more.
Last year, the Senate worked with community college educators and businesses on good ideas. The goal is to help under-skilled or under-employed Iowans while also helping Iowa businesses searching for skilled workers.
The first is GAP. GAP helps Iowans use their local community college to earn a credential, a recognized certificate, or prepare to pass a professional exam.
These students don’t qualify for most other financial aid. That’s why we use GAP to “fill the gap” so that they can afford the education and training they need.
The second is PACE. With PACE, Iowa’s community colleges help struggling Iowans learn about local job openings, and about the skills needed to fill those jobs. Then PACE uses state and community resources to help Iowans who want to improve their lives.
Here’s the bottom line: There are plenty of Iowa parents, moms and dads working one or two or three low-wage jobs. They could earn an EMT or welding certificate and move up to a better job.
Iowa business leaders have consistently told the Legislature that Iowa’s economy is hampered by persistent shortages of skilled workers.
Rather than telling community colleges to do less, we should ask community colleges to do more, especially when it comes to worker training, and to give them the resources to do it without making tuition unaffordable.
