By: Diana Johnsen
djohnsen@kcautv.com
They are jobs that help make a community go 'round.
From nurses to auto mechanics, each has a part in keeping a community alive.
"I like working on cars. I like hands-on activity. I like being hands-on, so you can learn more," said Auto-Body Collision student, Jonathan Ruden.
Soon though, jobs like these will see a shortage.
Recently, Georgetown University released a study saying over the next 6 years Iowa will need to fill over 500,000 jobs with over half of those jobs needing a high school diploma but not a four year degree, which is why local leaders are asking community colleges what they can do to help beat this issue.
"If we invest now in worker training and retraining we can get those jobs as the economy starts to come back in the state of Iowa," said Senator Majority Leader Mike Gronstal.
On Wednesday, Senator Gronstal and State Representative Chris Hall met with Western Iowa Tech Community College staff and local business owners to discuss and gather feedback on how to tackle the issue.
Gronstal said the discussion is not only to help prepare up and coming workers but to also improve the skills of existing workers.
"It's just getting the basic adult education skills that they have missed out on in high school because at that time in their life it probably wasn't important to them," Gronstal added.
Gronstal said he is working on a plan that he would like to discuss with the State Senate when it reconvenes in early January.
