Branstad sets goal for job training

Gov. Terry Branstad wants Iowans to have the skills needed to take advantage of employment opportunities projected by a new study.

A report released by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Education, projects that from 2010 to 2025, Iowa will add 612,000 jobs to its economy - including replacement jobs due to retirement.

The report also finds that 68 percent of the positions are expected to require postsecondary education and training beyond high school. That is 3 percentage points above the national average of 65 percent.

At his weekly news conference Monday, Branstad said his administration is working toward a goal of having 70 percent of Iowans in the workforce possess education or training beyond high school by 2025.

'Education or training beyond high school is the new minimum in today's increasingly knowledge-based, global economy,” Branstad said.

The report breaks down the projected jobs and requirements as:

' 32 percent will require a high school diploma or less. These jobs will tend to be largely in blue-collar, food service, and some healthcare support occupations.

' 39 percent of jobs will require at least some college or an associate degree. The 'middle-skills” positions may require education and training beyond a high school diploma, but not a bachelor's degree or higher.

' 21 percent of the jobs will require a bachelor's degree.

' 8 percent of jobs will require a graduate degree.

According to the report, Iowa's largest industries are manufacturing, healthcare and social assistance, and finance and insurance.

The industries with the largest numbers of job opportunities are healthcare and social assistance (40,000 jobs); finance and insurance (27,000 jobs); and administrative and support and waste management and remediation services (23,000 jobs), according to the report.

The report projects manufacturing - the state's largest industry - will add nearly 19,000 jobs - an 11 percent increase through 2025.