Iowa’s Statewide Approach to Building and Supporting Collaborative Sector Partnerships

Abstract: The Iowa Department of Education presented at the 2019 COABE Conference on their collaboration with Iowa’s 15 community colleges to build, connect, and empower employer-led, community-based sector partnerships to combat a shortage of skilled labor through a wide variety of talent attraction, retention, and development initiatives. The discussion centered on newly developed statewide materials, strategies, and initiatives which continue to support the development and growth of collaborative sector partnerships in Iowa, including a series of educational toolkits, community of practice initiatives, and statewide career pathway development strategies for critical industries like health science, advanced manufacturing, IT, and energy. Many of these resources, strategies, and general ideas can be easily and quickly replicated in other communities across the US. Visit SectorPartnerships.EducateIowa.gov to learn more and download many of the highlighted materials and additional resouces!