Grow Iowa’s skilled work force

By The Des Moines Register

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“Creating jobs” is not necessarily achieved by luring businesses to come to Iowa from somewhere else. That was made clear last week when a big hoopla was made over an addition to Google's data center in Council Bluffs that will bring a grand total of 50 jobs to southwest Iowa at a cost of $9.6 million in state tax credits.

Meanwhile, last Sunday, the Register's Donnelle Eller reported that jobs numbering in the hundreds are going begging across the state because of a shortage of skilled workers. Those jobs are not being transplanted from elsewhere. They are being “created” right here by Iowa manufacturers desperate to keep up with demand driven by the robust farm economy.

Iowa's challenge is to supply the demand for workers, both by attracting workers from other places and by training our own workers for those jobs. That requires making Iowa a great place to live, work and raise a family. But Iowa already has a supply of home-grown labor, provided workers are prepared for today's job market. And, provided Iowa has the essential infrastructure to meet that demand with its 15 area community colleges.

It is hard to exaggerate the value these schools have brought to this state in the nearly half-century since the statewide system was created. Iowa's community colleges offer an opportunity to more than 400,000 students ranging from adults preparing for new careers to high school graduates just getting started.

Community colleges offer college-bound students an affordable college-transfer option alongside vocational-technical training for a wide range of occupations. These vocational programs are an essential piece of the state's economic-development strategy, but they must be alert to the shifting needs of employers. That is a challenge in a rapidly evolving economy.

Take for example the Des Moines Area Community College, which has six campuses in central Iowa. It struggles to keep up with demand from students and employers. Nursing and auto mechanics, for example, have waiting lists of up to two years. The demand for welders illustrates the problem. Welding is a highly technical job that requires advanced technical skills and training on computers and sophisticated equipment. Every DMACC welding class is full, with more waiting to get in, and yet manufacturers still can't hire enough welders.

Companies can and do train their own, but on-the-job training is not enough: Community colleges must prepare graduates not just for new technology unique to a particular job but for the full range of industrial technologies in use now or in the future. Vocational schools also must be able to shift gears as employers' needs for workers' skills change.

Despite the vital role these schools play in the state's economy, they cannot keep up with demand. Local property-tax levies and state aid have not kept up with rising costs. So tuition, which covers 57 percent of expenses, has gone up 40 percent in 10 years to fill the gap. Iowa community college students pay the eighth highest tuition in the country. The state has turned to alternatives, such as tapping property taxes to train workers at new plants and contracting with employers. But state and local funds are still the financial foundation.

Two-year colleges have existed in Iowa since 1918 when the Mason City Junior College was founded, and dozens of other communities opened similar schools. The Legislature merged them into a statewide system in 1965, and today those schools are vital academic, cultural and social centers in their communities. Iowa must assure they have the resources to continue training the work force for today and tomorrow that will power Iowa's economic future.