We are starting the new year in the kitchen with John Andres, Director of Iowa Culinary Institute at Des Moines Area Community College. Learn how a career in the culinary arts can start at any age or experience level, and why the industry is full of opportunities right now.  

You’ve heard Ryan thank the podcast team at the end of each Mission: Employable episode, now you get a chance to meet them! Iowa Workforce Development Digital Communications team members Molly Elder, Ben Oldach, and Greg Bargas discuss the production process behind Mission: Employable, from the editing stages to the launch of each episode.  

One of the biggest challenges to starting your own company might be solved by some of the smallest loans you can receive.  In this episode, Kaitlin Byers of Kiva Iowa talks about how Microfinancing can help entrepreneurs and start-up business owners find the resources to turn their dreams into a reality.   

The Mission: Employable podcast heads to Western Iowa to speak with Sarah Martin, a Career Technical Education instructor with the Shenandoah School District. Learn how she makes connections with businesses in her community and how employers can harness the power of young minds in the state. Sarah proves you don’t have to be in a sprawling metro area to introduce students to work-based learning! 

At a time when the country needs them the most, new healthcare workers can be hard to come by. We’re joined by Tanya Comer, a former nurse and current Executive Director of Health Tech Associates, who explains how a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training school in West Des Moines is educating the next generation of the healthcare workers. Find out how she was able to continue training CNAs during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and how a Future Ready Iowa grant helped make it happen. 

We’re talking about how employers can expand their talent search and work to employ Iowans with disabilities. Michelle Kreft from Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Service shares how companies can make small changes to their hiring practices and create big time results when it comes to their workforce.  Find out how the experts at Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Service can connect you with a talented pool of potential employees.  

The age of robotics is upon us! Jill Lippincott of the Iowa Economic Development Authority joins us to discuss Advanced Manufacturing 4.0 and how robots, cloud computing, and integrated systems all relate to manufacturing in Iowa. Lippincott helps to dispel the myth that technology will replace jobs and explains how it will instead allow Iowa’s manufacturers to upskill their workforce.  

In this episode, we take a look into the not-so-distant future of work-based learning in Iowa. Kristy Volesky, a work-based learning consultant for the Iowa Department of Education, talks about how Iowa’s schools are working to improve their career-learning programs and what it means for future students! 

Join us for this special mini-episode about the Career Academy Incentive Fund grant program. Find out which four Iowa community colleges each received 1 million dollars in grant funding and how it will be used to expand high-demand career training programs across the state! 

The Future Ready Iowa Employer Innovation Fund can help change your company or organization for the better.  Joining us on the show is Amanda Creen, Lakeside Village Community Director, who runs the senior living center in Panora, Iowa. Amanda shares how the Employer Innovation fund paved the way to help her organization train and retain their workers.