New Job Corps center named in Iowa

New Job Corps center named in Iowa

	Published : Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:37 By : Agencies Print this Story

DES MOINES, Iowa (AFX) - The U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday that it has approved a proposal to build a Job Corps Center in Ottumwa, creating as many as 150 full-time jobs and 40 to 50 part-time positions.

Job Corps, the nation's largest residential education and job training program for at-risk youth aged 16 through 24 combines classroom and work-based learning experiences to prepare youth for long-term, high-paying jobs.

The center will be located on Indian Hills Community College property at the Ottumwa Industrial Airport. The college will donate 30 acres of land and has offered to sell the government existing buildings that could be remodeled for the center, which is scheduled to open in 2010.

Federal funding for the center will be provided through the annual congressional appropriations process.

More than 50 private businesses have promised to serve as work and training sites, offering job shadowing and other hands-on experience.

'We are just really excited about how this has all come together,' said Bob Morrissey, an assistant to the Indian Hills Community College president.

The college has worked on getting a Jobs Corps Center since 2003, he said. It promised to donate the land and help provide additional training and remedial work to help the center's participants.

'We pride ourselves in economic development efforts and what we can do for our area and this is going to be a tremendous boost to the economy of this area,' Morrissey said. 'We have a large underserved at-risk population in the state of Iowa between the ages of 16 and 24 and this is just going to open another 300 to 500 slots assisting our youth ... '

The Ottumwa center will house about 300 students a year in dormitories and serve another 250 off-campus participants annually.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said in a statement that he's worked since 2003 to establish the center at the community college, securing $18 million specifically for the creation of two new Job Corps centers.

'The Ottumwa Jobs Corps Center will give Iowans to opportunity to sharpen their skills close to home and it will also provide local businesses with an increasingly talented work force,' he said.

The Labor Department said there are 122 Job Corps centers located throughout the United States, including one in Denison, Iowa.

The Ottumwa center was one of three new locations announced Wednesday. The other two were in New Hampshire and Wyoming, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement.

'It was an extremely competitive process, and I know personally the outstanding qualities of this proposal,' Grassley said. 'This same strong leadership will ensure a new Job Corps Center that brings together industry, education and work force partners to help these at-risk young Iowans get the skills they need to become part of the work force and, in turn, drive economic development for the region.'