
EICC awarded $100,000 from Coronavirus Relief Fund Employer Innovation Fund Grant
9/25/20
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) is excited to announce the college is one of 65 applicants to receive funding through Future Ready Iowa’s Coronavirus Relief Fund Employer Innovation Fund Grant. The program helps local employers, nonprofits, community colleges, high schools, private universities and the University of Iowa provide postsecondary training and education to Iowans whose employment has been impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. More than $4.3 million has been awarded to the winning projects, with EICC receiving $100,000.
The goal of the EICC Coronavirus Employer Innovation Fund is to increase the number of students who complete short-term non-credit opportunities in three high-demand areas: Truck Driving, Manufacturing Awareness and Front Line Leadership programs. Grant funds will be used for to cover tuition costs for 88 Iowans in these high-demand programs, with the goal of placing all completers in jobs with local employers.
These programs will be targeted to Iowans whose employment has been affected by or eliminated because of the coronavirus pandemic including low skilled workers, veterans, returning citizens, members of underrepresented communities, minorities, women, Iowans with disabilities, and low-income Iowans by working in partnership with Iowa Workforce Development programs and community-based organizations. Career assessment will be included to ensure participants understand career requirements and options.
In addition, partner companies within each program area will commit to hiring program completers and promoting the program graduates to other companies in their communities and through professional networks. This effort will help to meet the Future Ready Iowa goal of 70% of Iowans in the workforce having education or training beyond high school by the year 2025.
About the programs:
Truck Driving:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states the employment growth in transportation
in Iowa is 13% with annual projected job openings of 5,450. In the Iowa Quad Cities
alone (Bettendorf, Blue Grass, Davenport, Eldridge and Long Grove) there are 56 trucking
employers. Students must earn a Certified Learner’s Permit and pass a drug and alcohol
screen and Department of Transportation physical in order to enroll in the course.
The program includes six weeks of classroom and driving instruction. Upon completion,
students are prepared to take the state performance exams for a CDL license, which
occurs onsite. Day classes run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., and
evening classes run Monday through Friday from 5 - 9:30 p.m. The program devotes a
total of 40 hours of classroom instruction/lab and 200 hours in lab/range and behind
the wheel.
Manufacturing Awareness:
This program was developed and launched by EICC and Iowa companies Clysar, Sears Seating,
HNI, Clinton Regional Development Corporation and Citizens First Bank to specifically
respond to the COVID shutdown. The Manufacturing Awareness program allows participants,
particularly those whose jobs have been affected by or eliminated due to the coronavirus
pandemic, the opportunity to learn about manufacturing career options. EMSI, a labor
analytics company, ranks a number of positions in manufacturing as the highest ranked
occupations in the six county region of EICC’s service area. The program includes
25 different courses which are offered online. It’s laid out in three sections beginning
with three introductory classes (Forklift Safety, Intro to Assembly and Intro to Supply
Chain Management), providing an overview of the manufacturing process, followed by
ten additional classes. At the conclusion of these classes, students receive a Manufacturing
Awareness Certificate. If a student chooses to continue completing 12 additional classes,
each one an hour in length or less, the student will receive a Certificate in Manufacturing
Fundamentals. A student has 90 days to conclude all courses to receive the certificates.
Frontline Leadership:
Labor market analytics company, EMSI, ranks First-Line Supervisors as one of the highest
ranked occupations in the six county region of EICC’s service area. EICC’s Front Line
Leadership program objectives are to understand the skills, behaviors and attitudes
needed for effective leadership; provide tools for connecting and engaging teams and
individual reports; understand the psychology of employee engagement and satisfaction;
learn skills to analyze employee developmental needs and improve employee performance;
learn communication skills needed to coach, provide feedback, initiate change and
manage conflict; and develop skills in creating high performance teams. This program
can be completed online via Zoom with extensive interaction between the trainer and
students along with student activities, with students receiving a certification upon
completion.
For more information about the grant or these short-term training options, please
contact Paula Arends, Director of Workforce Innovation, at 563-336-3357 or parends@eicc.edu
Toll-free 1-888-336-3907, email eiccinfo@eicc.edu
Questions? Call toll-free 1-888-336-3907, email eiccinfo@eicc.edu or contact the college nearest you and ask to speak to an advisor.
- Clinton Community College, 563-244-7000
- Muscatine Community College, 563-288-6000
- Scott Community College, 563-441-4000
It is the policy of Eastern Iowa Community College District not to discriminate in
its programs, activities, or employment on the basis of race, color, national origin,
sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, religion, and actual
or potential family, parental or marital status, as required by the Iowa Code §§216.6
and 216.9, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d and
2000e), the Equal Pay Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 206, et seq.), Title IX (Educational
Amendments, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C.
§ 794), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101, et
seq.). If you have questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy,
please contact Debora J. Sullivan, Equal Employment Opportunity Officer/Equity Coordinator,
Eastern Iowa Community College District, 101 West Third Street, Davenport, Iowa 52801,
563-336-3487, djsullivan@eicc.edu or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights,
U.S. Department of Education, Citigroup Center, 500 West Madison Street, Suite 1475,
Chicago, Illinois 60661-7204, phone number 312-730-1560, fax 312-730-1576, OCR.Chicago@ed.gov.