Indian Hills Community College addresses the Governor’s call to upskill Iowa’s workforce

OTTUMWA, Iowa (KYOU) - More and more people are realizing that a four-year study isn’t for them, whether it’s a financial issue or just a time commitment. Whatever the case may be, it is causing a decline in the number of positions needed to fill everyday jobs in places like Ottumwa.

Dr. Jennifer Wilson, who is the Executive Dean for Transfer and Workforce Education at Indian Hills Community College, says they offer different types of training for jobs such as EMT or a certified nurse’s aid but oftentimes will do what is called customized training.

“We go in and we work with businesses to develop training, again it’s a customized training approach. We go in and ask the questions what do you need? What do your employees need for training? What skills are they lacking? What’s coming? What’s the new trend within your industry? Then we start developing that curriculum.”

Wilson says most employers she’s spoken with are looking for skills like critical thinking, leadership, and preparedness just to name a few, but most skills that are specific to the industry. And she says they offer programs that can teach you those skills in a short amount of time.

“We have some that are truly six to eight weeks. Six To eight-week courses. Some are two to three hours. We can go into a business and if they’re certain on a skill they want someone to learn or you want a group of individuals to learn, we can teach just that skill.”

She says that you don’t always have to have a degree to have a good earning wage, but you will need some type of credential beyond high school. If you are looking to join one of the programs offered at Indian Hills you can contact the Indian Hills Office of Admissions by calling (641)683-5262 or via email at Admissions@indianhills.edu or visit their website https://www.indianhills.edu/cews/index.php

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