Worker training fund to support 187 new jobs

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Tri State Tower, a Marion-based company that erects cell towers, has been looking to grow.

The work is there, but they've struggled to recruit people with the skills needed.

"We are a growing company," said Diek Brunscheen, chief operating officer. "The problem isn't the amount of work. The problem is getting people trained to do our line of work. It's a construction trade, but not a typical construction job."

A number of businesses in Eastern Iowa face similar challenges where there's a gap between the skills needed for the job and the skills available in the workforce. A new employee can require considerable resources and time to develop into a productive team member.

Companies such as Tri State are trying to overcome the gap and grow their business by leveraging a new hire training program administered by Kirkwood Community College.

Kirkwood approved new hire training agreements in April with nine businesses in Eastern Iowa, including Tri State. In total, the agreements will support 187 new hires with average annual salaries ranging from $25,636 to $55,737.

The budget for the nine training agreements is $1.875 million.

The agreements fall under the 260E Iowa New Jobs Training Program, which provides funding for training and continued development of new employees.

Stephanie Bredman manages the new jobs training program for Kirkwood.

Through the program, employers can be reimbursed for some of the costs of hiring a new employee. Half the reimbursement is for lost productivity that comes from having someone new on board, and the second part of the reimbursement is for development or training programs the employer provides the new employee, Bredman said.

The money the employer receives up front is repaid back to the new hire training fund through withholding 1.5 to 3 percent of payroll tax revenue from those new employees over a 10 year span, Bredman said.

Premier Business Solutions of Cedar Rapids plans to double its existing workforce of 65 people, information from the agreement. Tri State's goal is to expand its workforce by about 43 percent, adding 20 employees with an average salary of $51,180 to the existing staff of 47, according to the agreement.

"Our goal is to increase the development of employees in their initial couple years as best we can," said Keith Chapman, Tri State director of corporation development. "And, it gives them opportunities to grow and advance. There's not a lot of industry training opportunities out there, so it forces us to do the best with what's around us."

Here's the nine businesses that had job training agreements approved in April.

1. Clickstop of Benton County

2. Coles Quality Foods Inc. of Johnson County

3. Donald J O'Connell dba Shasta QA of Johnson County

4. DuPont of Linn County

5. Iowa Renewable Energy of Washington County

6. Premiere Business Solutions LLC of Linn County

7. Specialty Blending of Linn County

8. Tri State Tower of Linn County

9. Tipton Structural Fabrication, Inc. of Linn County