Senator Ragan, Representative Steckman and Senator Majority Leader Gronstal seek strategies to help Iowans recover from national recession –
(Mason City) – State Senator Amanda Ragan and State Representative Sharon Steckman of Mason City and Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs will meet Wednesday with community college officials and local business owners to discuss how the state of Iowa can help fill skilled worker shortages.
The meeting will be held on Thursday, November 29, in Mason City from 10 AM to 11:30 AM in the Muse Norse Center, Room 180 of North Iowa Area Community College.
“Ensuring more workers get the training they need must be part of our statewide effort to help Iowans recover from the national recession. Our current skill shortage is a serious problem for Iowa’s economy,” Ragan said.
“By 2018, 62 percent of all jobs in Iowa — 1.1 million jobs — will require some training or education beyond high school,” Steckman said. “Yet nearly 10 percent of Iowa’s working-age adults do not have a high school diploma.”
In 2012, Ragan, Steckman and Gronstal helped lead a successful effort to pass community college legislation that included new opportunities to earn non-credit skill certificates and the creation of the new Skilled Workforce Shortage Tuition Grant.
41 thoughts on “Ragan, Steckman, Gronstal to hold meeting on efforts to fill skilled worker shortages in Mason City”
Them two don’t know nothing to get money for jobs. we got to deport illegals and make them welfare people work. Kick off the fat ones till they get skinny and kick off drug additts and sterlize them will mean money for jobs.
BOTH THESE spend sisters ARE PUBLIC SERVANTS AND UNIONIZED -PS FAT CAT PUBLIC SERVANTS JOBS .
How many of you anti-unions would rather work for $8-10/hr. non-union jobs as apposed to a union job for $20-30? As money conscious as so many of you antis are….. I’m betting you’d go union. Esp. if you have kids.
Not all unions are perfect. But beats $8/hr.
The business where I work pays more than $8-10, but it could not afford to pay $20-30. It would go out of business. Period. The same way unions have driven all the other businesses to other countries for cheap labor.
Good idea. Get more skilled workforce. Most of those who can’t find jobs simply don’t have the job skills needed in todays economy. Sad but true. A good friend of mine tells me constantly that he has tried to hire many people but most simply don’t have the aptitude or mental skills.Too many are also obese and can’t do the physical work.
Lack of reasoning skills is a big problem. Another problem is poor attention to detail. This is very apparent on this site with all the spelling and grammatical errors. Many people did not pay attention in school (or had learning disorders) and have poor writing skills in adulthood that prevent them from getting white collar jobs. I can’t believe how many people blew off the best free thing they were ever offered.
Katie, I agree with you. Too many people want great jobs, but haven’t a clue on how to obtain and keep one. I have never heard “I can’t believe how many people blew off the best free thing they were ever offered.” before but it is so accurate. Good reply.
There not going to find any skilled labor from Mexico.
Some of you don’t read very well. In a few years 62% of the jobs IOWANS need will require more education than a high school can provide. That means a “skilled job”. As we move forward in time, more and more jobs will require more education (training). That means we have to help create places where they can receive that training. These are jobs where you can’t just step in and do the job. And a one week trainee period won’t do it either. If we want to lower the unemployment in this country, we need to adapt to the changing world because it won’t adapt to us. If you want to live in the Stone Age, maybe you should find a small tribe somewhere in Borneo, and go live with them.
You are greatly appreciated by some people. Keep up the excellent work you do for the people in this area and in the State. I appreciate how active you are Ragan and Steckman on many issues.
Ditto. Some bloggers are terribly misinformed and uninformed. Ragan, Steckman and other legislators of both parties from North Iowa are generally bipartisan in their efforts and fight hard to do whats right. Ragan for example just successfully sponsored a bill that reduced property taxes on small business owners and is hardly worthy of some of the criticism you are reading.
Ditto. Aint heard that since the movie “Ghost.” hahaha
@armbears-you are the one who is misinformed. I had some dealings with Regan a few years back and she just flat lied to get what she wanted. I don’t trust her as far as I could throw her. All she knows how to do is SPEND, SPEND, SPEND.She thinks that is the answer to everything. Throw other people’s money at it and see what happens.
So when are my business property taxes going down?
Yep they sure came through for Robin and the chamber. Millions right out of our pockets.
Union workers are union slaves…Yes master, take my dues, support politations, you need more dues? Here take more of my wages. Oh by the way a job with or without union is a J-O-B. My, my, my aren’t we the fussie one?
That’s a very ignorant statement. Unions built this country and the middle class. Otherwise it’s all just wal mart jobs. Get a clue chief.
where is our middle class today? If you give unions credit they get the blame too. Pal.
Leaders like Branstad, Reagan, Bush have destroyed unions so now they are all but dead and so are the good jobs. Why don’t you wake up and smell the applesauce buddy. Anyone who takes a non-union job is a fool!
Job is a job. Take what you can get in this economy. You want a good job that pays well? Educate and/or train for a good job. Don’t expect to have the world handed to your union then handed to you. That is the sense of entitlement that is tearing this country apart.
Anyone who either joins a union or is still in a union is a fool!
Wow, where do you start when you are Pro-Union? I wish my job was Union so I made a better wage and had better benefits. I wouldn’t be trying to bankrupt my employer, just being treated fairly when the company does well from my hard work. Yes the CEO deserves a good wage too, but 40+ million dollars a year for some while cutting benefits and wages for the workers? Hard to swallow? If I owned a business I would want all of my neighboring workers to be Union so they would bring those better paying wages into my shop and spend their money here instead of WallyWorld.
Are you going to chip in when your employer has a bad year? I know of a business that made an employee a part owner. When they had a bad year and needed to inject cash into their business, he said, “Screw you”, and made them buy him out. Ain’t ownership wonderful? Unions are great as long as you don’t have to worry about losing money.
Hey Proud, welders are wanted in Garner But do you need to be paid to look out your window and get off your butt?
If it ain’t a union job, they can keep it, they will end up screwing me over.
Ask a hostess or a crystal sugar worker about their union. Unions make merit almost impossible to reward and protect the incompetent.
I wouldn’t want a worker with your attitude.
I wouldn’t hire you either.
Unions never reward the hard worker. They only protect the lazy ones.
The world is full of lazy workers now. And folks who want free money and handouts. This town is full of them. Even the richies get free lunch from the rest of us. It’s just sad.
Always turns my stomach to see open socialist standing in front of a American flag. Makes me sick
Didn’t these two socialists give the chamber of commerce millions of dollars for their new play pen?
They already have a welding program at NIACC. The problem is when they get their AA degree they go somewhere where they can mak a lot more money. Welding is hot, nasty work and most people don’t want to work as hard as a welder has to and to do it for the kind of money paid around here is just plain stupid. The only welders that stay here do so for family. The spend sisters will come up with some B.S. program that does no good and costs the taxpayers a lot of money. Back in the day the company’s used to pay for and train their own people.
“back in the day” it didn’t take money or very long to teach a guy to use a hamnmer & screwdriver…. Or a woman how to make a bed or keep books. Nowdays it’s all about using the computer on the job. And those lessons aren’t free. So before you trash people who want to help people get training be grateful someone is willing to step up to the plate and get training centers & money for them. You know so more people can be taxpayers. That oughta make you happy.
And why should employers train people and then have those people go somewhere else for a job with more wages.
I’ve heard there is a shortage of welders.
I did not know there were local jobs unfilled?
Now this picture really shows the problem with our Govt. You see 2 Dems standing together telling what they are going to do. How many times have you seem a Rep. and a Dem. standing talking about what we need to do? Both parties look at what makes THEIR party look the best and not what is the best interest of the American people.
Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure they’ll help conservative workers too. But yeah, somebody should tell them it’s not cool to seek brownie points by doing what you’re elected to do….
You want to fill skilled worker shortages? How about paying some decent wages, it’s as simple as that! You darn democrats always talk about the evil rich corporations but then in the end you bail them out just like the republicans. Now you are out doing their recruiting for them! If they pay enough the workers will show up. You guys will probably scheme up some stupid plan to bring workers here, costing us tax payers more money. We need more good paying jobs, it’s good if there is a worker shortage. Come on, get on the side of the little guy. You always claim to be there during campaign season!
Well said! If there is a worker shortage PAY MORE!
But no, dems to the rescue with another government program. Spend, spend, spend…….
What worker shortage? More like a JOB shortage! Hello!