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Skilled Iowa Initiative launched to assist employers and workers; stimulate business growth
Program seen as valuable tool to attract businesses and new jobs
Governor Terry Branstad announced the new Skilled Iowa Initiative, a program that provides assurances to employers and potential employers that local work fores have the skills and abilities to fill job openings. The initiative will promote the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) testing to potential job seekers, encourage businesses to hire certified workers and when applicable, and provide resources to those looking to improve their skills.
Key supporters of the initiative joined Governor Branstad for the announcement.
"The Skilled Iowa Initiative is a critical step in improving the quality of the workforce in Iowa," said Branstad. "It is improtant Iowa's government, private industry, and our educational system work together to find innovative solutions."
"This program is the right move for our state," said Director Wahlert. "Skilled Iowa provides a universal system of assessing workers' skills and abilities for employers, as well as promoting workers' development and improvement."
The program will allow employers to determine baseline skills for potential employees. The program uses a universal testing system that rates the skills and abilities of those in Iowa's workforce, awarding an NCRC upon completion of the program. The NCRC allows workers to more accurately display their skills to current and potential employers.
More details are available at www.skillediowa.org
Find Skilled Iowa on Facebook and follow @SkilledIowa on Twitter.
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Kudos!!
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Fostoria had its centennial celebration July 20 and 21!
Alta-Aurelia's high school baseball team qualified for boys 2A state!
Congratulations to Estherville Lincoln Central's softball team for placing 4th in the class 3A state tournament!
Kari Webb was named the new STEM Hub Coordinator for Iowa Lakes Community College. Webb is a former Spirit Lake High School Academic Dean and Science Teacher.
Shaun Arneson, vice president of the Iowa Lakes Corridor, was appointed to the STEM advisory board for Northwest Iowa.
Armstrong Heritage Museum received a $5,000 grant from Bank Midwest to fund a new building showcasing the impact that agriculture has had on the community.
Storm Lake Airport received a grant to replace the airport fuel system.
Little Swan Lake Winery of Estherville celebrated 10 years of business!
Okoboji and the surrounding area was named one of the top 25 locations in the nation for pheasant hunting by Pheasants Forever.
Iowa Lake's Corridor's 2011-12 Annual Report is now available on our website. Click here.
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Iowa Workforce Development launches mobile site for job searches
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Iowa Workforce Development's statewide job bank is now available in a mobile version at www.workiniowa.jobs
"Iowans are increasingly connected to technology while on the go," stated Iowa Workforce Development director Teresa Wahlert. "In an effort to provide workforce services to Iowans in convenient platforms, we have partnered with DirectEmployers Association to provide the mobile technology."
The job listings can be accessed 24/7 via the new website. Job opportunities can be searched by city, employer name and keyword. The site only lists available jobs from employers verified by IWD. |
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Do you have a Kudos, Upcoming Event, feature story or other item that you would like included in The Corridor? Contact Samantha and she'll be sure to include it!
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Greetings!
The Iowa Lakes Corridor would like to welcome its newest investors:
Doll Distributing, Spencer
Bolton & Menk, Spencer
Don Pierson Ford, Spencer
EDP Renewables, Lake Park
Northern Iowa Die Casting, Lake Park
NWIowa Bone, Joint & Sports Medicine, Storm Lake, Spencer, Spirit Lake
This brings our number of new investors to 40. Click here for a list of all our investors. Thank you for your investment in regional economic development. |
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Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute
Seventh annual OEI completed
The seventh annual Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute was held August 5-10. Thirty-two students from University of Iowa, Iowa State University, University of Northern Iowa, Buena Vista University and Iowa Lakes Community College spent the week learning and networking with successful entrepreneurs from the Corridor region.
Thank you to all of the OEI sponsors and volunteers for making this amazing week possible! Students often tell us that OEI is a life-changing experience. We hope to continue the program for many years to come!
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20th Anniversary celebration video
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Laborshed analysis of Corridor region available
The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation has released its updated regional laborshed analysis. The laborshed analysis, updated at least every three years, was conducted by Iowa Workforce Development and once again indicates the region has a diverse, skilled and educated workforce. A laborshed is defined as the area or region from which an employment center draws its commuting workers. All information reported in the laborshed analysis is based on the number of respondents; 1,125 surveys were completed. The information reported is in aggregate form. The total potential laborforce from the four-county region of Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet is 132,008. Kathy Evert, president and CEO of the Corridor, said, "Our recent laborshed analysis informs us, as well as existing and prospective employers, that our region has a diverse mix of industries, skills, abilities and work experiences and a potential laborforce two times our population." The laborshed analysis was conducted in the summer of 2012, following the collection of zip code information from area employers. The zip code information was entered into a geographical information system mapping program to generate the concentration levels and commuting patterns of employees in the region. Telephone surveys were then conducted on more than 1600 residents/employees in the region between the ages of 18 and 64. The results indicated that 78 percent of residents are employed, while 6.9 percent were unemployed, 6.3 percent were voluntarily not employed/not retired and 8.8 percent were retired. A few other statistics found in the analysis are that individuals willing to change or accept employment in the region are willing to commute 24 miles one way for employment opportunities; more than 24 percent are working multiple jobs; 25.6 percent of those currently employed are willing to change jobs for the right opportunity. Just over 39 percent of those voluntarily not employed/not retired and 29 percent of retired residents were willing to re-enter the workforce. Survey respondents were asked to identify the industry in which they are currently working. The largest concentrations of workers are employed in wholesale and retail trade, 15.9 percent, education, 15.8 percent, healthcare and social services, 13.9 percent, and manufacturing, 12.7 percent. The analysis provides education and median wage information of the respondents by the industry in which they are employed, what resources are used in seeking employment opportunities, and what benefits are currently offered. "Existing employers in the region can use this information to see the commuting patterns, what job training employees feel they need, see the number of residents and their experience and wage levels, and what it would take for homemakers, retirees and underemployed to consider and accept new employment opportunities," said Shaun Arneson, vice president of the Iowa Lakes Corridor. "Existing employers may consider looking inside their own company to identify employees that have more capacity than what their current position requires." The laborshed also identifies frequent job search sources. The four main sources noted were local and regional newspapers, The Des Moines Register, Sioux City Journal, Spencer Daily Reporter; the internet, www.iowaworkforce.org, www.google.com, www.monster.com; networking through friends, family and acquaintances; and local IowaWORKS Centers. The regional laborshed analysis is available for the Estherville, Spencer, Spirit Lake and Storm Lake nodes, as well as by specific industries: advanced manufacturing and food processing. Summaries are available at no charge and can be downloaded from the Corridor's website, www.lakescorridor.com. Full detailed reports are available for a fee at the Iowa Lakes Corridor office in Spencer. The executive summary is available here; hard copies are available at the Corridor office. |
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Air Filter Blaster receives Sterling Award at Canadian Farm Progress Show
SPENCER - Just ordinary people with a great idea-that is all it seems to take for local entrepreneurs to strike a chord of success. Dennis Grieve, invented the AFB, a new device in the agricultural community that cleans the engine's canister air filter in seconds; this allows fuel and maintenance costs to be cut while the engine's overall performance increases, leading to an increased engine life.
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Jake Heying, CEO and CFO of Salmon River Innovations LLC poses with the Air Filter Blaster and the Sterling Award presented to him at the Canadian Farm Progress Show.
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Jake Heying, CEO and CFO of Salmon River Innovations LLC, recently attended the Canadian Farm Progress Show to present this new product to consumers. The three day farm show event took place on June 20-22, in Regina, Saskatchewan, with 806 exhibitors. The show presents an award to new innovative products. Salmon River Innovation's Air Filter Blaster took home the Sterling Award, which is equivalent to second place.
"Because the award comes from the buyers, it acknowledges the fact that our product is a good thing and something farmers appreciate. We were very pleased and humbled when we received the award-we are proud of our product," Said Jake Heying, CEO and CFO of Salmon River Innovations.
The Air Filter Blaster was the only product that was not computerized, so its high ranking is impressive. The Air Filter Blaster is unique because its universal design allows it to be used in all brands of tractors, heavy equipment, semi-trucks, and a number of air filtration systems. This is also crucial for farmers, and the Air Filter Blaster takes a task that usually requires 10-15 minutes and completes it in 30 seconds. The Air Filter Blaster is not only beneficial for the machine to run properly, but testing has shown that with a dirty filter, considerably more fuel is used per hour. In just one day, the AFB claims to pay for itself.
The Canadian Farm Progress Show is not the only trade show that the Air Filter Blaster has been recognized at. Prior to the Canada shows, the AFB was a tremendous success at the Commodity Classic in Nashville, Tennessee, the Iowa Power Show in Des Moines, Iowa, the World of Concrete in Las Vegas, Evada, the ConAg Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the East Coast Sawmill & Logging Expo in Richmond, Virginia. This is also not the first award the AFB has received; at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, the AFB took home the first place award for the show's Most Innovative Product.
"When I became CEO of Salmon River Innovations, I had on one condition-that the company and its day to day operations were based in Spencer, Iowa. Spencer is such a great location, it is central for shipping purposes across the United States, and the culture of the Midwest and Iowa is unique in that the people here are honest and hard-working," said Heying.
In the future, Salmon River Innovations hopes the AFB is sold by 100% resellers, which they are currently looking for. Since the Air Filter Blaster's launch in January of 2012, the AFB has sold more than 1,300 units and currently boasts 6 resellers. If trends continue, soon the company can focus on manufacturing the product in large quantities.
"The hard part is, large companies want to be a pioneer of a product-but a proven product," remarked Heying. Due to this fact of business, Salmon River Innovations, LLC is having to prove itself to the large companies. They seem to be doing just that as they continually bring home awards at the trade shows they attend. "You have to build confidence with your customers first, and then the confidence from the large companies will come, but with all 'never before seen products,' it is all about awareness," said Heying.
Heying will be an exhibitor at the Corridor's first Innovation Pavilion at the Clay County Fair this coming September. The Fair's Innovation Pavilion sponsored by Iowa Lakes Corridor will highlight agriculture technology and local entrepreneurs to showcase local businesses and products. The Corridor is pleased and excited to be showcasing local entrepreneurs like Heying. For more information about the Innovation Pavilion contact Brian Dalziel at 712-264-3474 or bdalziel@lakescorridor.com
For more information about the Air Filter Blaster of Salmon River Innovations, contact Jake Heying. 112 W 8th Street in Spencer, call 712-580-3202 (office) 712-260-5654 (cell phone) 555-341-4677(toll free), jakeheying@airfilterblaster.com, or visit www.airfilterblaster.com.
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Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation Staff
Kathy Evert
Shaun Arneson
Brian Dalziel
Holly Pearson
Samantha Miller
Joanne Follon
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