Branstad to hold education/workforce roundtables
BUSINESS RECORD STAFF Aug 11, 2015 | 3:57 pm
1 min read time
213 wordsAll Latest News, Education, Government Policy and Law, Retail and BusinessGov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday announced they will launch a series of roundtable meetings across the state to focus on ways to better align education and workforce initiatives to close the skills gap and meet future employer needs.
The roundtable series marks the beginning of the “Future Ready Iowa” initiative, which will focus on ways to continue building Iowa’s talent pipeline to ensure the state can meet its workforce needs.
The initiative comes after Iowa received a National Governors Association policy academy grant in 2014 for up to $170,000 to develop strategies to improve the educational attainment of its citizens and the alignment of those degrees and credentials with employer demand.
According to a National Skills Coalition study published in August 2014, middle-skill jobs account for 57 percent of Iowa’s labor market, but only 50 percent of the state’s workers are trained to meet those workforce needs.
The first roundtable will be held Wednesday, Aug. 12, at the Capitol. Additional roundtables will be announced at a later date.
For the first meeting, Branstad and Reynolds will hear from Iowa students from across the state. They will share how the education and training they’re currently receiving could potentially be improved to prepare them for the workforce and rewarding careers.
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