Business, education leaders highlight partnership successes

January 13, 2017 | Rediscovering Dubuque and Northeast Iowa Emily Schettler, Iowa Association of Business and Industry, eschettler@iowaabi.org

Sustained partnerships between Iowa’s businesses and educators are key to creating a pipeline of qualified workers, said panelists at last month’s Connecting Statewide Leaders forum.

Business leaders Lori Schaefer- Weaton, president of Agri-Industrial Plastics in Fairfield, and Mary Andringa, chair of the board at Vermeer Corp. in Pella, joined Pella Community High School Principal Eric Nelson to share best practices and lessons learned during the first forum of the 2016-17 series, which took place at Vermeer. The Iowa Association of Business and Industry holds its Connecting State Leaders events around the state in conjunction with sessions of Leadership Iowa.

“I really believe in the state of Iowa, with the kinds of partnerships and the willingness for educators and business and industry to work together to be able to create that future is really significant,” Andringa said.

All three agreed working with students, parents and teachers is critical to helping introduce future employees to valuable, in-demand careers, especially those in science, technology, engineering and math.

They use programs like Elevate Advanced Manufacturing, Project Lead the Way and Manufacturing Day to connect with all three sets of groups.

Vermeer regularly hosts teachers during the summer so they can better understand the skills students need and the jobs that are available.

“They go back to the classroom with a whole new understanding of today’s manufacturing environment,” Andringa said.

Pella Community Schools created a career academy three years ago to help introduce and educate students on high-quality, in-demand careers. Among other resources, the district in- stalled 12 welding stations.

Nelson saw the payoff almost immediately. After taking 29 students on a field trip to see firsthand what a career in welding looks like, 26 of the students enrolled in a welding course.

One student in particular, who Nelson said had struggled to stay focused and had been in trouble in the past, showed up the day after the field trip prepared to learn.

“He found what he wanted to do in life,” Nelson said. “Those are the students we’re able to reach through programs like this.”

Schaefer-Weaton and Andringa also go out of their way to bring groups of girls into their facilities to show them that careers in manufacturing are for men and women.

Vermeer’s female engineers do projects with girls of all ages, even those who attend the company’s child care center.

At Agri-Industrial Plastics, Schaefer-Weaton offers tours and activities to show off her facility.

“I love bringing girls into our plant and letting them see it and understand that there’s so much opportunity,” Schaefer-Weaton said. “We want every single kid in Fairfield to know what Agri-Industrial Plastics is, what we do, and that potentially they could work here a year from now or 20 years from now.”