Community colleges are a valuable partner for Iowa businesses

Last month, I had the pleasure of joining my good friend Mark Hanawalt in addressing attendees at a conference involving Iowa’s community colleges. Mark and I discussed the strong partnership that exists between community colleges and Iowa businesses in general and ABI member companies in particular. We talked about what businesses and education should expect from each other and how collaboration is the key to fostering innovation. We are proud of the partnership we helped create with the community college system in Iowa and of the positive impact it has on ABI member companies and other organizations across the state.

That discussion was a part of a conference marking the 50th anniversary of service to our state by Iowa’s community colleges. I know that many of you work closely with your local community college. Take a minute to let the people there know how much you appreciate the work they do in making Iowa better.

Perhaps the most visible component of the community college – ABI partnership is our work together on Elevate Advanced Manufacturing. Elevate is the ABI initiative to raise the profile of manufacturing jobs, connect Iowans with training for those jobs, and then connect Iowans with the jobs and careers available when that training is completed. Community colleges and Iowa’s other post-secondary educational institutions are vital to the success of the Elevate initiative.

Additionally, if you want to learn more about cybersecurity, a risk that should be on every company’s radar, see the feature article inside this edition of Business Record Iowa, ABI’s monthly newsmagazine. You’ll find good information about what other business leaders are doing with regard to this important topic.

Finally, don’t forget to make your reservations now to attend the 2016 Taking Care of Business Conference. ABI’s 113th annual conference will take place in Sioux City June 14-16, and you do not want to miss it!

Iowa needs leaders, and when it comes to the people who are best equipped to fill those roles, I ask, “Why Not ABI?” On second thought, since we are celebrating a significant milestone with our community colleges this month, it might be better said, “Why not an educationally connected ABI?” Thank you once more for your investment in ABI.