INSIDE EDUCATION

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By IVCCD Chancellor Tim Wynes

The standard question I get this time of year is, How's your enrollment? At all three IVCCD sites ­ the campus in Grinnell, Marshalltown Community College and Ellsworth Community College ­ enrollment is very good. We have a high number of first year students straight out of high school, along with very high numbers of adults previously in the workforce, now returning to education and training. The story of the unemployed back in school is worthy of our focus.

Regional workforce development is sometimes a hidden part of your community college. Twelve Iowa Valley employees share space with state workers at the Wolfe Building in Marshalltown. Their sole job is to help unemployed persons return to the workforce. Making that transition often requires further education and training. There are a variety of programs available through various funding sources to get people back to the ranks of the employed.

Three hundred people are enrolled in the Workforce Investment Act program that provides training assistance - double the number seeking assistance last year. Another hundred people are retraining after their jobs were moved to another country. Most are enrolled in an IVCCD training program, anything from GED (high school equivalency) to a short course in welding to a full two-year degree program. Iowa Workforce Development, another partner at the
Workforce Center, now also administers a program called Training Extension Benefit'which can extend a person's unemployment benefit 26 weeks if theyseek skills for a job that is in high demand.

Promise Jobs is a mandatory work and training program related to persons receiving welfare assistance. It is a program aimed at addressing a person's challenges to employment. We currently have about 525 people a month enrolled in Promise Jobs (about 90 cases more per month compared to last year). Of that number about 75 to 80 are enrolled in some type of
training program. This includes GED and post secondary education.

In times of economic instability, it is not uncommon for people to turn to their local community college for assistance. We are fast and flexible and able to adjust to the needs and wants of both local employers and those seeking employment. It is a vital part of our mission to serve the community, not just through standard college education, but also with economic development through job training and retraining.

Editor's Note: Tim Wynes, J.D. is Chancellor for Iowa Valley Community College District, that operates Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Marshalltown Community College, Iowa Valley Community College Grinnell, and Iowa Valley Continuing Education throughout the district.


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