Workforce in Iowa’s
Creative Corridor
Iowa’s Creative Corridor
Regional Workforce
Development Plan
Iowa’s Creative Corridor
Regional Workforce
Development Plan
A regional, aligned approach to workforce
strategies in the corridor to ensure the
region’s current and future workforce meets
the needs of the employers in Iowa’s
Creative Corridor.
Iowa’s Creative Corridor
Regional Workforce
Development Plan
CORE TEAM:
ICAD – KCC - CRMEA
The Meaning – Regional Workforce
Challenges
• Phase I:
– Complete the Strategic Skills Alignment study identifying the region’s
targeted industry clusters, occupational details and career ladders
supporting these clusters.
– Distributed and gained input from the region to formulate themes of
emphasis for the Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development
Strategic Plan
• Conducted 18 focus groups
• Reached over 200 regional constituents
– Formulated themes, inputs, goals to establish framework for the
Regional Workforce Development Strategic Plan
Regional Workforce Critical Themes
• Areas of critical shortages (1.1;1.2)
– Entry level positions across industry sectors
– Middle skill jobs particularly in manufacturing and
transportation
– High skill jobs in Information Technology,
Engineering, and Electronics Manufacturing
Regional Workforce Critical Themes
• A need for greater flexibility and innovation
(2.3;3.1;3.2)
– Hiring models and practices need updating
– Entry level positions offer wages that require work
supports to make the job financially viable for the
low-income populations represented in the
available workforce
– Culture of the organization
Regional Workforce Critical Themes
• A need to increase interaction and
collaboration (1.1;1.2)
– More emphasis on career services and career exploration
for K-12 students and post-secondary students
– Process is time consuming to acquire interns from postsecondary institutions and quality of graduates in some
degree areas is lacking
– Expanded career services and more investment in
placement services with regional employers
Regional Workforce Critical Themes
• A need to market the region and the
opportunities it has to offer (2.2;2.3)
– Lack of available labor
– Challenge with retention
– Increase diversity
Regional Workforce Critical Themes
• A need to enhance the basic foundational
skills of the region’s workforce (1.1;3.2)
– Quality of applicants is a challenge
– Lack of basic skills, work readiness, ability to pass drug
screening and background checks are more prevalent in
applicant pools
– Entry level positions today require more advanced skills sets
than they did two years ago
Regional Workforce Critical Themes
• A need to better prepare students for
success in their careers and in the workforce
(1.1;1.2)
– Employers need to get in front of students at a younger age
– Linkages to assist faculty, advisors, counselors, and
education staff understand the region’s industry, job
opportunities, skills needed, and wage rates
– The recession is accelerating the shift to jobs that require postsecondary education
Building the Plan - Regional
Workforce Development Coalition
• Phase II:
– Workforce development coalition formed of 30 members from industry
cluster groups, education, economic development, community based
organizations, and chambers of commerce
– Draft plan developed based on Skills Alignment data and regional
workforce critical themes
– Formulated the goals and objectives of the Regional Workforce
Development Strategic Plan
– Determined the lead and support organizations as implementing
organizations
– Determined draft timelines and progress indicators for the plan
The Plan
• Goal 1: Invest in the region’s current and future
workforce to grow capacity and align capabilities to
meet key corridor needs.
– Objective 1.1: Increase communication and collaboration between education,
employers and economic development officials to focus on increasing the
alignment between education and workforce needs.
– Lead Organization: Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids Metro
Economic Alliance, Economic Alliance Education Task Force, Metro
Superintendents Group, Regional Superintendents Group
– Objective 1.2: Increase the number of K-12 and post-secondary students and
employers participating in internships, job shadowing and other career
exploration opportunities.
– Lead Organization: Higher Education Connection, Workplace Learning
Connection, University of Iowa
The Plan
• Goal 2: Promote and enhance the region’s image as
a place to live, work, and thrive.
– Objective 2.1: Expand coordinated marketing efforts to internal and
external audiences promoting the Creative Corridor as a place to work and
live.
– Lead Organization: Corridor Business Alliance
– Objective 2.2: Continue to develop appropriate informational materials and
tools for employers to utilize in their employee recruitment efforts.
– Lead Organization: Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and Iowa City
Area Development Group
– Objective 2.3: Expand the resources available to regional employers to
share best practices, products, processes and tools to enhance their
workforce, recruitment and retention strategies.
– Lead Organization: Iowa City Area Development Group
The Plan
• Goal 3: Reduce barriers to workforce participation
and engagement.
– Objective 3.1: Create an initiative that fosters diversity and inclusion in
the Creative Corridor region and recognizes employers for their efforts.
– Lead Organization: Iowa City Area Development Group, Diversity
Focus
– Objective 3.2: Increase availability of training and resources focused
on fundamentals of personal finance: financial literacy, credit repair and
debt management.
– Lead Organization: United Way of East Central Iowa and United Way
of Johnson and Washington Counties
Adoption and EndorsementRegional Workforce
Development Plan
• Phase III:
– Formation of governance structure
• Supports lead organizations, meeting quarterly for plan updates, communicates results
and metrics
– Present to Lead and Support organizations requesting feedback
regarding the plan and to formally adopt and endorse the plan
– Lead organizations agree to be a key implementer and primary
coordinator for the Plan Objective.
– Lead organizations work with support organizations to identify and
implement strategies that will ‘move the dial’ producing measurable
results.
Thank you
• Online resources:
– iowascreativecorridor.com/skillsreport/
– Pickyourpace.com
– iowascreativecorridor.com/workforce/
• Please call ICAD Group or the CR Metro
Economic Alliance for more information