NIACC Charles City Career Center welcomes new college president, Chamber visitors

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Several dozen area business representatives and residents got a chance to meet the new NIACC president and tour the new NIACC Career Center in Charles City Thursday evening, a little more than a week before the facility opens to high school students from seven area school districts.

The North Iowa Area Community College Foundation and the NIACC Board of Directors were hosting the monthly Chamber of Commerce Member Mingle, then the directors also held their monthly board meeting in one of the classrooms.

NIACC President Joel Pedersen said the Charles City center is an example of the kind of career training that community colleges need to be involved in. Classes will begin Monday, Aug. 26.

The program is open to senior high school students from Charles City and six other area high schools that agreed to support it – Clarksville, Nashua-Plainfield, North Butler, Osage, Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock and Riceville.

Training will be offered in four subjects identified by the state as being in demand, especially in this area: advanced manufacturing, construction trades, information technology and health care.

The students who elect to participate in one of the four programs will attend classes at the Career Center in the mornings, then go back to their high schools for afternoon classes. After a year of courses they will receive a certificate in their career area and can take their new skills into the workplace, or continue their education — at NIACC or anywhere else.

The center includes tools, equipment, computers and programs representative of what’s being actually used in the four career areas.

Pedersen said the college is also working on making the center available for adult training in the afternoon.

The project is a partnership among NIACC and two other community colleges, Northeast Iowa Community College and Hawkeye Community College, and the seven school districts.

A 9,500-square foot addition was built on to the existing NIACC Charles City center, then the existing building was also remodeled.

This is the second career center for high school students that NIACC has built. The first, in Forest City, was the first career center built in Iowa after legislation was passed making funding available for technical training to reach all corners of the state.