New program to train, provide advancement for low-income adults

CEDAR RAPIDS – With more than 6 percent of Linn County residents unemployed, and a 5.6 percent unemployment rate in our area, the new Kirkwood Pathways for Academic Career Education and Employment (KPACE) was established to put people to work in local industry, and set them up for advancement.

The new pilot program was created in response to the region's identified skills needs and community goal of increasing the number of financially stable households in our area. This partnership between Kirkwood Community College, the United Way of East Central Iowa, community-based organizations and local employers, is in alignment with President Obama's graduation initiative, the recent Iowa Education Summit and the promotion of credentials and degrees.

KPACE is targeted at lower-skilled, low-income adults, the unemployed and underemployed. It's set up to support individuals' abilities to advance over time to successively higher levels of education and employment, helping them gain financial stability along the way. The program weaves together basic skills training, workplace readiness training, academic learning and credential attainment.

The recently completed Skills 2014 survey shows employers in the seven-county region Kirkwood serves, are showing cautiously optimistic job growth projections for new and replacement workers, primarily in the manufacturing, health care, information solutions, transportation/logistics and education sectors.

“We've set up this new program to respond directly to the needs of the local community,” said Kirkwood Vice President of Continuing Education and Training Services Kim Johnson. “Jobs in the region require education beyond high school and businesses have told us what type of jobs they need to fill, and that credentials remain a high priority. Unfortunately, they're telling us that job applicants don't have the specialized and technical skills, or education needed.”

The program uniquely positions a “pathway navigator,” whose role it is to work with participants of the program to navigate the educational environment and their pathway. The program can provide tuition, supportive services and case management to income eligible participants.

“We're giving people the needed tools to be successful in their jobs,” said Kirkwood Director of High School Completion Programs Marcel Kielkucki. “They're not just getting help finding a job. We'll train them, get them an education, provide assistance with transportation help and child care if necessary, help with setting goals and other needs that may arise. By giving them these tools, we'll be able to not just help them in the short-term, but keep them in the program to reach the goals they set.”

"The results of the Skills 2014 Report make it clear that building skills is essential to obtaining competitive employment in the region,” said Judy Stoffel of the United Way of East Central Iowa. “Cost of living data gives our pathway navigators a solid benchmark for the income students will need to support their family's basic needs. This clarity will be an important component to helping students develop academic goals that will lead to employment and self-sufficiency.”

The KPACE programs in health care, information technology and advanced manufacturing lead to credentials that support middle-wage jobs at a self-sufficient wage. The programs focus on the college readiness and career readiness workforce needs of education and employers. Those in the program come in with different levels of education and leave at different levels as well. The goal of the program is for participants to earn a certificate or credential, and then translate that into a diploma and in many cases a degree, giving them the education and skills local industries demand.

According to the data from the Skills 2014 survey, 66 percent of the projected new and replacement positions require education beyond a high school diploma and 51 percent require education of a two-year degree and beyond. Of the more than 5,700 people being served by the IowaWORKS one-stop; 11 percent have no GED; 53 percent have a high school diploma and 26 percent have some college. This means that of those being served through the one-stop, 90 percent do not have the requisite educational levels required for 66 percent of the jobs projected to be created in the region through 2014.

According to a recent study from Georgetown University, the United States will need 22 million more people with college degrees by the year 2018 to fill the jobs that will open. There is a projected shortfall of 3 million degrees.

“Our national economy will really take a step back if we aren't able to place qualified people into the jobs that open and locally we need to stay ahead of the curve,” said Johnson. “Employers told us in Skills 2014 that their highest area of concern of job applicants is the lack of technical skills that apply directly to the job and are often primarily job specific. With our focused training in these selected industries, we plan to meet those occupational skills.”

This pilot program will train people for work in welding, health care, business and information technology and computing, all while giving them the credentials and skills to advance in those careers. A number of states across the country have implemented career pathway programming like KPACE, including Wisconsin, Washington and Oregon. The results of this type of programming are very promising and are shown to support credential attainment.

KPACE's priority applicants are residents of Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Jones, Johnson, Linn and Washington counties, who are at least 18 years old, have a family or individual income at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level, are unemployed or underemployed, and in need of a GED or high school diploma. Other individuals who already have a GED or high school diploma also qualify.

“This program will help identify and address the academic and social supports that are needed for students to fully engage in training and acquire certificates, diplomas and degrees,” added Stoffel. “This community initiative will have lasting impact on vulnerable households in our area.”

If interested, please contact Bethany Parker at 319-365-9474, ext. 31155 for student enrollment and program information. Contact Kim Johnson at 319-398-5525 for more information about the KPACE credentialing model.