Business Partners Training Consortium: 25 years and going strong

Since 1988, a workforce training program from Kirkwood Community College has helped employees in eastern Iowa companies gain and improve skills to stay competitive. The 2012-13 Business Partners Training Consortium starts its new 10-session series in September, marking the 25th year of this key workforce partnership.

Kirkwood Training & Outreach Services (KTOS) collaborates with local companies to identify common training needs for companies in Kirkwood's seven-county service area, and offer sessions to address the needs.

KTOS partners with local, regional and national consultants to deliver high-level customized training based on the needs of companies. Multi-company participation and state funding allows training cost savings to employers by as much as 50 percent.

“We implemented some ideas from each session and are working on implementing other areas as we continue to grow our business,” said James E. Coller, president of Computer Software Development, Inc. “What we liked about the training was that it covered all areas that we needed to address in the business, including sales, team building, communications with our customers to provide better service and the list goes on.”

This year's 10-session training schedule runs from September 2012 through April 2013. Session topics include managing priorities with available technologies, generational communication, leading through organizational change, presentation skills, customer service, workplace law and more.

To join the consortium, businesses can invest in one “ticket” for a single session or a “season ticket” for the entire 10-session season. With a “season ticket,” a different employee can attend each session based on the relevance of a topic to the given staff person's job responsibilities.

For additional information, to see a listing of all 10 sessions and to register, visit http://www.kirkwood.edu/businesspartners.