Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is looking to get schooled by area employers and companies as it rolls out a new survey designed to help EICC identify the workforce demands and skill sets that will face tomorrow’s workforce.
To gather input, EICC launched a Workforce Development and Training Survey in which local employers are being asked to share their opinions on emerging trends, hiring expectations, new skills and training programs they foresee emerging.
“We have a desire to really breathe life into our mission and serve the business community and the industry here in the Quad Cities region through providing the training that’s relevant to them,” said Ashlee Spannagel, EICC’s vice chancellor of workforce development.
Survey respondents will be asked about their current and emerging employee training needs, barriers to training, preferred training formats (i.e. online, in-person) as well as the skills and certifications that could aid in their hiring and retention efforts. There also are questions to gauge interest in partnering with EICC on developing customized training, apprenticeship programs, internships and more.
The survey is available at eicc.edu/workforcesurvey and will remain open until Friday, Aug. 22.
With campuses across metro Iowa Quad Cities, Muscatine and Clinton counties, EICC is urging all area employers and industries – large and small – to have their voices heard. Target industries include manufacturing, health care, construction, transportation and logistics, government, education, retail and hospitality, agriculture, and finance and insurance.
“So basically, everybody” is invited to participate, Ms. Spannagel told the QCBJ in an interview at EICC’s Blong Technology Center in Davenport.
With companies facing constant advances in technology, changes in hiring practices, and new delivery methods of training, she said EICC needs to hear directly from employers to better understand the region’s workforce needs.
Survey impetus
Erin Snyder, EICC’s chief communication officer, said it was an accreditation visit to EICC last year by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) that ignited the idea for the district to again survey its area companies and industry partners.
“The commission asked us to bring together a group of partners, and in that conversation with that group of partners, they were really excited to learn from each other,” said Ms. Snyder, who also is the HLC accreditation liaison officer. “They were sharing stories of work they’d done with us, partnerships they’ve done with us and it was sort of the catalyst of us realizing we need to bring them together.”
This marks the first time since 2010 that EICC has conducted a survey of the region’s employers and partners. This time around, Ms. Snyder said, the survey also will offer potential training topics to spark respondents to think about their own workforce needs.
Ms. Spannagel, who joined EICC about a year ago, said the survey also comes as the district’s workforce division has revitalized, or reconfigured, how it meets customers’ needs. She said staff explored how the division works with its partners, how it can ensure offerings match up with area business and industry partners’ priorities, and other ways it can serve business and industry.
“I like to consider us experts in this space – providing training,” she said. “We can put together all these beautiful trainings and offerings. But if it’s not actually in alignment with what the needs are then we’ve missed the mark.”
The survey, she added, “is our way of listening, learning and leaning into the needs of local businesses.”
Workforce and training specialists also are using the survey as a chance to reach out to current and potential industry partners to showcase the full menu of business services provided by EICC’s Business Solutions team.
“I think it’s an opportunity for people to think about us, an opportunity to re-engage and an opportunity for somebody that’s never used us (to become more familiar),” said Kendra Schaapveld, EICC’s workforce development director.
Another goal is to widen EICC’s reach and visibility even among past company partners. With retirements and personnel changes, she said in some cases, the college may now need to educate a new company representative about all of its workforce and training capabilities.
“We strive to have three to five contacts per company because we know turnover happens,” Ms. Schaapveld said. In fact, the hope is that multiple leaders from each company participate.
“If it’s the C-Suite leader or if it’s the operations manager, everyone has a little different perspective on what the needs are, what the priorities are,” Ms. Spannagel said. “The more data we have, the better the results will be and the better action we could take.”
Answers also are expected to lead to followup discussions with employers who are interested in exploring new or other partnerships with the district.
“We have a lot of industry companies in this service area that are huge and can afford to bring in people and do training in-house,” Ms. Spannagel said. But smaller companies may need EICC to help them develop a plan or to join with other like-sized employers and create a consortium.
“When they come together they can learn from each other and we can offer training for them that’s more affordable to them but still meets their needs,” she said. “We do that often now, and we look to do that much more in the future.”
As an incentive, EICC is offering a free training, up to a $5,000 value, to one company that completes the survey. In addition, all respondents who provide the requested contact information on the survey will be eligible for a 10% discount off their next EICC training.
According to the survey team leaders, EICC already communicates regularly with its business and industry partners, some of whom serve on its advisory boards, to keep track of emerging needs in the workplace and training spaces.
Ms. Snyder said the survey “is an opportunity to say ‘but what training do you actually need?’ … ‘What do you need that we haven’t asked about or thought about all together?’”
Given the current business climate, the aging workforce and the arrival of a new generation with different expectations and skills, employers need to be ready for a wave of change.
“There’s just a lot going on right now as it relates to managing a workforce at a company – whether you’ve got 5,000 employees or five employees,” Ms. Spannagel said.
Future action plan
But most importantly, she said, will be what EICC does after the survey results are in and compiled. Ms. Spannagel said the district plans to widely share the findings and develop an action plan and discuss what EICC’s next steps will be.
“I tell my team that we can do anything, but we can’t do everything,” Ms. Spannagel said. EICC will look at “how do we prioritize so that we can continue to meet the needs of our companies, and then also our students?”
To advance the discussion, a series of four public forums is being planned across the district this fall as well as possible focus groups and individual company conversations. No dates have been announced. The community events also will provide an opportunity to introduce new EICC Chancellor Bryan Renfro, who arrived on the job earlier this month.
Although the survey’s target is all companies and sectors, Ms. Spannagel said “Knowing that probably the largest industry sector that we service is manufacturing, we’re hosting the forums in October in celebration of Manufacturing Month.”
EICC recognizes the demands on businesses today, but is optimistic for widespread participation. “When our employers speak, we listen – and act,” she said. “This survey is not just a form; it’s a roadmap to a stronger, more resilient regional economy.”
Ms. Spannagel said EICC already serves a minimum of 250 companies a year with its training options. “Our primary mission is to serve the companies on the Iowa side in our service area that pay taxes to EICC,” she said, adding “However, we do serve a lot of companies on the Illinois side too.”
She also expects the team will debrief others within the college community on the results including the board of trustees.
The takeaway for the companies, she said, is that “We want them to see that EICC is a partner and can be a partner.”
AT A GLANCE: EICC workforce survey
What: Eastern Iowa Community Colleges new Workforce Development and Training Survey is urging area companies and employers to participate.
When: The online survey is open Thursday, July 17-Friday, Aug. 22.
Why: Data gathered will help EICC better understand future workforce and training needs of the region’s employers and identify skills gaps and opportunities to collaborate.
Take the survey: Visit eicc.edu/workforcesurvey. It will take about 15 minutes and all responses are confidential.
Who should take it: Employers from all sectors including manufacturing, health care, construction, transportation and logistics, government, education, retail and hospitality, agriculture and finance and insurance. The survey is open to employers in Scott, Clinton and Muscatine counties in Iowa and the Illinois Quad Cities.
