Published: April 14, 2008 11:32 am            

Community colleges work to fill needs of local employers

Can you imagine a community without access to the community college? Many of us accept the presence of our local community college and know it is always there for us. As we reflect during Community College Month, there are so many activities that we take for granted.

For business, Iowa is one of a few states that provide monies to the community college used specifically to assist business to train workers. These monies have proven to be invaluable to companies and the recruiting of new companies to the state. A company can provide more training, thus retain their workers and continue to update employee skills with a much smaller budget. Locally, communities in the Eastern Iowa Community College District have created consortiums to pull companies together and share training. This opportunity has provided the smaller company the same advantages as the large corporations. These consortiums have resulted in more networking and sharing of resources among the companies.

The future of available workers is a large concern for the entire country. Community colleges are supportive and assisting in identifying solutions for local businesses.

The community college encourages adults to acquire skills that allow them to stay in the area and have excellent skilled positions. Through the Career Link Program, potential workers learn how to be a good worker for an employer. The success of this program has resulted in a large number of unemployed or underemployed workers obtaining a new or better job. The program is successful because the community college has invested in the resources to provide quality instruction and design the curriculum to fit the needs of local employers.

All communities have the same opportunities because the community college works to serve everyone. There is low cost tuition for quality education; courses and workshops to meet continuous learning needs; trips to enjoy the arts; and foreign travel. The local community college provides us the quality of life that we enjoy and expect.

Please remember to say thank you when taking advantage of learning experiences at the community college. It is our best kept secret in education.

Sylvia Banes is the executive director of the DeWitt Development Co.

        

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