Kirkwood’s inaugural Jones County Leadership Council focuses on student success, workforce development

With cooler weather proclaiming the advent of a new school year, Kirkwood Community College is seeking opportunities to bolster student engagement and workforce learning opportunities in its rural districts. On Sept. 4, around 30 business leaders, local officials and educators from across Jones County convened at Kirkwood’s Jones County Regional Center in Monticello to discuss the county’s future of higher education and workforce development.

The college’s inaugural Jones County Leadership Council meeting, held at 220 Welter Drive, focused on workforce development and strengthening the local economy, with participants exploring how the college could play a larger role in addressing these needs. “If we can only know what's happening in our communities, it makes us much more likely to be able to address needs or to help make connections and to make sure to serve all of you,” Kirkwood President Kristie Fisher said. Ms. Fisher discussed Kirkwood’s contributions to Iowa’s workforce, highlighting its popular health care programs that send students to train in various locations. “It's important to us, because we need places to train those students,” she said. “But we also think it's really good for the communities if we can get students out to the more rural areas, so (students don’t) think the jobs are just in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. If we can send students out (and) they have a great experience, then they're more likely to think that they might want to be one of the outlying counties.” She also touched on Kirkwood’s newest programs, aviation maintenance technology and cybersecurity, and mentioned the growing gender gap in higher education, with women taking the lead. “Young men are opting out of higher ed, and that's not good for our communities, it’s not good for young men, it's not good for the country,” she said. “So it's one of the things we’re really thinking about, it's also one of the reasons why it's really important to have things like the regional centers that bring hands-on learning, closer to students where they live. More young men are interested in hands-on learning.”

Job shadows, hands-on learning important

In Jones County, students in the Kirkwood Workplace Learning Connection have gained hands-on experience across a diverse range of industries, from agriculture and conservation to health care and tech innovation. From 2023-2024, Kirkwood’s Workplace Learning Connection facilitated 4,044 job shadows, 467 internships, and saw 28,500 event participants, said Kristine Bullock, Kirkwood’s Workplace Learning Connection director. Students have engaged with local businesses and organizations such as Jones County Conservation, UnityPoint Jones Regional Medical Center, Rogers Concrete, Scale Tec and Boomerang, among others.

“We work really closely with our academic departments to align the programming that we're doing here with not only meeting community needs, but most importantly, that aligns with Kirkwood programs,” said Lisa Folken, Jones County Regional Center director. “There's lots of different things that we can do within the walls of this building to help support students once they get here,” she continued, including ensuring equitable access for all students and raising awareness about various opportunities. “And then once they're here, provide them an opportunity to explore a career.” The Regional Center works closely with industry partners to provide students with real-world exposure and job opportunities, which includes hosting meet-and-greet events, industry tours, and integrating workplace learning into their educational experience. “We are nearing 4,500 total students served, and that's roughly about $10 million this year, in terms of tuition saved for our students and families,” Ms. Folken said.

County leaders weigh in

Following presentations by Kirkwood’s staff, Ms. Fisher opened the floor for attendees to express what they’d like to see improved upon or offered with the Regional Center. Discussions spanned a variety of concerns, including strategies to boost community engagement and the role of local businesses in enhancing student success, as well as the critical need to offer students real-world experiences and forge strong connections with local industries.

Darren Hanna, superintendent of the Anamosa School District, emphasized the importance of guiding students to become more informed about their passions and future opportunities, with the goal of encouraging them to stay in their local communities. “I think educating them to go somewhere else defeats the purpose,” he said. “Our communities need our students to raise families and keep the vitality of our communities, so the opportunities that are available here are critical for our kids.” With that in mind, he’d like to see the college collaborate with area schools in preparing students for life outside the school walls, helping them identify passions through “career trees” and connecting them with opportunities within the region. “We are a farming economy. We are a manufacturing economy,” said Monticello resident and co-founder of the Jones County Migrant Inclusion Group, Mary Melchert, expressing a desire to see local manufacturers succeed and recruit a workforce. “What can we do to keep those businesses here?” Ms. Folken pointed out the Regional Center’s industry tours, but noted opportunities are sometimes limited given restrictions around student age, as dictated by a company’s insurance policy. “That's been an ongoing battle that's likely not going to change,” she said to Ms. Melchert, noting the additional difficulty in aligning the schedules of busy industry professionals with the availability of students. “It's about making sure that we continue that partnership and not give up on that initiative, because it's not something that we want to give up, and I know that (companies) don't want to either,” Ms. Folken said. “Our goal is to get people in the door right into our local businesses…we have to literally grab them by the hand and show them the opportunities, otherwise (students) will leave.” Attendees agreed that community engagement will play a crucial role in connecting students with careers and opportunities with local industries. “I applaud you for having this particular gathering, because I know that I'm sitting here thinking, ‘how can I pull something from this to help with some of some of the projects that I'm working on right now in Anamosa?’” Anamosa attorney Matt McQuillen said, noting the current collaboration between several Jones County schools. “We have a lot of interested people who are willing to at least show up and do some investigations, and I think that's just a start.”