Mission: Employable

Grant funding is helping the push for economic equality in Iowa. Iowa Blueprint for Change is a federally funded program that Iowa is using to help workers who are disabled find Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE). Brandy McOmber, Deputy Division Administrator for Iowa's Vocational Rehabilitation, and Ashley Banes, Project Director at Iowa Blueprint for Change, join the Mission: Employable pod...

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 helped change the landscape for employees with disabilities across the country. As Iowa Workforce Development continues to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) it's important to show employers how they can make improvements to their businesses and become more accessible to Iowans with disabilities. Ashlee Cummings, Disab...

Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation (IVRS) Director Dr. James Williams returns for the second part of our series on IVRS and National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).  In part two we look towards the future and see what the next 365 days will entail for IVRS and how that work will impact Iowans with disabilities. 

It's been a year since Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services has joined Iowa Workforce Development.   Since then, IVRS has eliminated their waitlist for services. As we start our month of celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month, IVRS Director Dr. James Williams stops by the podcast for part one of a two part series on IVRS. Join us as we take a look back at what IVRS has accom...

A quick update for the end of September and a look ahead at a special series during October.

The Skill Bridge program creates a pathway from the end of military service to the civilian job market, and it is expanding in Iowa. Hear from one of IowaWORKS ' Local Veterans Employment Representative (LVER) about how the program is adding employers to its roster, and from a current Skill Bridge intern who is finishing up his service in the Navy by working a civilian job.  Find out how the progr...

You're not hearing double! There are Two Trevors on the Mission: Employable Podcast.  Trevor Zielinski and Trevor Stevens from the Skilled Trades Academy at Central Campus in Des Moines pair up to tell us about how their electrician apprenticeship program is sparking interest in high school students. Find out how the pair formed a unique partnership that got the program off the ground. 

Iowa's TPRA (Teacher Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship) Program serves as an alternate route for Iowans to become educators. Hear from recent TPRA graduate Trevor Zielinski on how the program prepared him for his new role as a full-time teacher and why he thinks TPRA is such a viable way for others to pursue their career path in education.  

While school may be out the learning doesn't stop for students enrolled in IVRS' Summer Pre-Employment Transition Services program.  Hundreds of students with disabilities across the state are exposed to several different careers to learn hands on, and see what it takes to enter in those career fields. Mary Jackson, Bureau Chief for Transition Services at IVRS , talks about the ever expanding prog...

Iowa's Teacher Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship program (TPRA) is helping to fill classrooms across the state with teachers who can't wait to educate our students.  Jennifer Gray, Iowa Office of Apprenticeship Program Coordinator , joins the Mission: Employable podcast and talks to us about how the unique program can help future teachers get certified to teach with on - the - job experience....

On average, Iowans are spending less time unemployed than ever before in our state's history. IWD Director Beth Townsend has returned from Washington D.C. where she testified before a House subcommittee on the success Iowa has had helping find unemployed Iowans a new career. On this episode of Mission: Employable, find out how individualized career coaches are helping Iowans earlier than ever in t...

An Iowa Veterans organization inspired one Iowan to help fellow veterans connect with each other and employers who could provide them careers after the militar y . Frank Sposeto founded the River Valley Veterans Networking Group and is calling on Veterans and e mployers in Central Iowa to get together and create partnerships that will last for years to come. Find out how the group works , where th...

Immigrants and Refugees are often thought of as one group of people, but there are several differences when it comes to employing them. Edgar Ramirez, Refugee Workforce Liaison for Iowa Workforce Development, talks to us about the unique circumstances these populations can fac e , and how employers can access this talent pipeline . Additionally, hear how Ramirez's personal story of immigration has...

Yvette Clausen wasn't supposed to be here .   Sentenced to life in prison following a crime she committed at the age of 17, Clausen was granted parole following an Iowa S upreme C ourt case that overturned sentencing minors to life without parole .   Now , a s a self-employment counselor for Iowa 's Vocational Rehabilitation, she tells us how she was able to get an education while inc arcerated  ...

IowaWORKS has a brand new tool to help serve Iowans no matter where they are . The M obile W orkforce C enter is an IowaWORK S office on wheels, featuring 10 computer work stations, TVs for presentations , and accessible access lift located in the rear.  Career Planner Joseph Nobile stops by to talk about  where we've been , plans for our next stop, and how you can request a visit from the Mobile...

When COVID hit, IowaWORKS had to take their career workshops online to best serve Iowans.  What started as a solution to a worldwide problem has become a valuable tool for Iowans who are searching for a career.  IowaWORKS staff Joseph Pittman and Corey Stevens drop by the podcast studio to talk about what you can learn by signing up for a Virtual Career Workshop, how to do it, and why participatio...

Des Moines, and Central Iowa as a whole, is on the upswing. The Greater Des Moines Partnership President and CEO Tiffany Tauscheck stops by the Mission: Employable podcast t o tell us all about the surprising ways Des Moines, IA , continues to grow, and what kind of industries continue to lead the way. Additionally, Tauscheck explains why the Greater Des Moines Partnership supports expanding work-...

Summer Youth Internship Programs are a grea t way for employers and non-profits to build a talent pipeline that will help both train and retain employees for years to come.  Program Coordinator Melanie Johnson and Grants Administrator Patrick Rice join the Mission: Employable podcast to discuss more details about what the grant can be used for, how businesses can apply, and why Summer Youth Intern...

Hom e Base Iowa is one of Iowa Workforce Development's resource for Veteran s and their family members, a nd, there's new leadership to guide the future of the program. Retired Marine Harrison Swift takes over as manager for the program that aims to ma ke Iowa the state of choice for Veterans , service members, and their families .   Find out more about Swift's background when it comes to serving...

In the first Mission: Employable podcast episode of 2024 , we explore how the partnership between Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services and Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) will grow in the coming year. Business Engagement Disability Bureau Chief Michelle Kref ft joins the show to discuss how her new division will help businesses become more proactive in hiring Iowans with disabilities . She div...

Come for the workforce conversation, stay for Chicago Cubs talk with Director Beth Townsend!  Take a listen as we reflect on some of IWD's accomplishments in 2023 and get a sneak peek at what the agency has planned for 2024.

One Iowa high schooler is helping lead the charge on issues surrounding youth employment in the state. Ottumwa sophomore Oliver Hernandez Norris is joined by Krista Tedrow from Iowa's South Central Workforce Development Board to tell us about how they secured a meeting with the Federal Department of Labor in Washington D.C. to discuss youth employment.  Find out what Oliver says are some of the ma...

Iowa Workforce Development's Labor Market Information Division is hard at work crunching Iowa's workforce numbers. On today's episode we sit down with LMI Bureau Chief Donna Burkett to talk about how they collect their information, and why a survey that goes out to employers twice a year is crucial to employment decisions for both employers and job seekers.

National Apprenticeship Week is a time to celebrate the employers and apprentices who have helped create a new pathway towards employment across the country. Here in Iowa, Dane Sulentic, is now Iowa Workforce Development's new State Apprenticeship Director. Sulentic stops by the Mission: Employable podcast to talk about the viability of Registered Apprenticeship programs, and how they can help emp...

I owa Vocational Rehabilitation   Services has a new leader and he comes all the way from Texas. Division Administrator , Dr. James Williams , joins the Mission: Employable p odcast to talk about how he plans to lead the department over the next few years. Find out what he has in store for I owa's Vocational Rehabilitation Services , and how his experience in special education and vocational rehab...