Skilled veterans sought for positions in Iowa

MARION - Business leaders underscored the need to hire quality workers Thursday during a panel discussion on attracting veterans to Iowa.

'One of the main issues that (businesses) are facing right now is just simply finding enough workers, and finding the skilled workers that they need to continue to grow,” said Kathy Anderson, vice president, Member Development and Programs at the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.

The event was a collaboration between the Marion Economic Development Corporation and Kirkwood Community College. Freund-Vector Corporation, which provides specialized processing equipment to other businesses, hosted the event at its Marion location and gave a tour of its facilities.

Anderson said as the military continues to downsize, Iowa has the chance to welcome veterans into the state's workforce.

'So using those skills, using that experience, and really bolstering our workforce, but also bolstering our leadership in our communities,” are great reasons to hire veterans, Anderson said.

Nick Glew, president of the Marion Economic Development Corporation, moderated the discussion and said Iowa is attracting veterans via a number of avenues, such as posting job opportunities online and waiving a start-up fee for water services.

Anderson said there also have been incentives at the state level with the passage of the Home Base Iowa act, which among other things exempts military pensions from the state income tax.

Jim Spencer, vice president, engineering and manufacturing general manager at Freund-Vector, said the company needs workers with skills such as welding, polishing and fabrication.

'We just can't find people to do the job and to do it well,” he said.