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Iowa Workforce Study Group Meeting

Iowa Workforce Study Group Meeting Notes July 2007.doc

On Monday July 16th the IBF invited a group of Iowa leaders dedicated to growing Iowa's workforce population to meet for an open study group discussion on several key topics. The purpose of the meeting was to ask that Iowa’s leading institutions consider using a proven process called Workforce Chartering in order to help solve Iowa’s workforce needs in a more collective way.

Since IBF's review of the Iowa2010 Plan in 2005, and from subsequent state tours and information gathering meetings, it is clear that Iowa is not winning the population game. In fact Iowa is losing more and more people every year.

What is yet unclear is how much of a burden this trend will place on Iowa's future and what steps should be taken to address the issue. Some of the symptoms of this economic challenge are already being noticed in economic research yet many in Iowa question whether workforce growth is a critical issue. Thus, the IBF hosted the Iowa Workforce Study Group meeting in order to address four very specific critical points.

There is vast public uncertainty of the real facts around our population crisis resulting in a reduced sense of need for change.
Iowa is not perceived as a land of opportunity and career growth for young Iowans or by non-Iowans.
We have no comprehensive strategy for addressing these challenges statewide in a public-private partnership approach.
Where we are having success, the strategies and best practices are not being effectively shared.

If you are interested in the on-going work of this study group or if you have information to share or questions to ask please email us your thoughts at info@betteriowa.com. Notes from the meeting are posted above on this page.