State rolling out program to expand "middle skill" workforce - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports

The Director of Iowa Workforce Development, Teresa Wahlert met with business leaders and employers at the Siouxland Chamber Friday.  Her goal was to talk about the new Skilled Iowa Communities Initiative.  It's designed to improve job training for workers to meet the current demands of the workforce in Iowa.

Wahlert says part of the initiative is based on an assessment program that places workers into an internship, and then a potential job opportunity.

"Our jobs of today and tomorrow are going to be in the area of middle skills, where you need some applied mathematics, you need some reading for content and information expertise, and you can hunt for information through technology, and that's what this certification process will help to teach and to train because there is a training module associated with it as well as the certification and the test itself," Teresa Wahlert said.

She says in some cases, people who learn these "middle skills" and become certified with the National Career Readiness Certificate Program, can earn more than people who graduate college with bachelor's degrees.