[Excerpt]

A group of nearly 100 people gathered Thursday to address challenges facing the state’s workforce and what needs to be done as the state continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The meeting, hosted by AMOS Institute of Public Life, the education and training arm of AMOS [A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy], drew members of the region’s faith-based community, business leaders, and state and local government officials.

The meeting focused on Project IOWA, a nonprofit organization that offers support and training to Iowans looking to improve their careers.

Paul Osterman, a professor of human resources at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the keynote speaker of the meeting, said job training programs, such as Project IOWA, have had great success in helping low-wage workers climb the ladder to better-paying jobs.

He said nothing has changed since the pandemic began to spread, “it’s just intensified it,” in reference to the need for services.

Osterman said one challenge that needs to be addressed is helping people move from one job to another, something Project IOWA focuses on.

There isn’t a strong public system to help with that, so the work Project IOWA does is essential to not only train workers, but also provide access to good jobs and creating good jobs.

“And these programs do both of these,” Osterman said. “You provide training, skills and connection to employers, but programs like these also create worker jobs, because there is research that shows that in communities that have effective human capital, skill development systems, employers do better. More jobs are created. It’s better for entrepreneurs. It’s better for employers. It helps new businesses coming to the community when they can see that the community is invested in the skills of its people, and sharing the cost of developing the skills of its people.

“Over time, it actually improves the economic health of the community,” he said.

Change Needed in Job Training, Development in New Pandemic Workforce, Business Record [pdf]

 

When approached by a call center seeking to train workers for high turnover jobs paying $8 / hour, NOVA challenged the employer to invest in worker development for higher paying work. The call center responded and now NOVA trainees start at $10 / hour and move to $12.50 / hour within three months, including benefits; call center attrition has dropped. NOVA is becoming a new kind of hiring hall, offering training for dignified work that pays fair wages and offers benefits.

"Two programs that have achieved high retention, completion, and placement rates in this way are Project Quest, a network of programs linked to the Industrial Areas Foundation in Texas and Arizona, and BioWorks, a consortium of life-sciences firms and community colleges in North Carolina.

Project Quest, which the Aspen Institute and Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government have singled out as a potential national model, helps people land their first middle-skills jobs at member companies. Its hallmarks are the high level of personal support that it provides and the strong collaboration among community groups, churches, businesses, and community colleges that it fosters. The programs in the network collaborate with local firms to identify job openings. Employers also provide information about their evolving staffing requirements, cooperate in curriculum development, and offer financial or other support to the trainees and the colleges...."

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