MOUNT PLEASANT – On Tuesday, Governor Reynolds announced 14 recipients of the Future Ready Iowa Employer Innovation Fund, a matching grant that helps employers provide postsecondary training and education opportunities for their employees. The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance has been awarded one of those grants for $10,000.
“Through the Employer Innovation Fund, Future Ready Iowa is working to spur innovation among employers and communities,” said Gov. Reynolds. “We have thousands of open jobs and rewarding careers and that is why we launched Future Ready Iowa. The Employer Innovation Fund is just one way we can help remove the barriers to postsecondary training and education and help Iowans achieve their goals.”
To meet identified employer needs in the area, this project will fund the purchase a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine to be placed in the Mount Pleasant High School as well as cover the cost of training instructors. The school district and the local business community have partnered together to teach students and parents about the advanced technology involved in manufacturing jobs within their community. Local manufacturers will serve as project advisors and will help teach more than 175 students how to use the CNC machine each semester. As this is a matching grant, the business community will contribute $5,000 to this project, the schools will contribute $5,000 and the state grant will complete the $10,000 match.
“We are very honored to receive the Employer Innovation Fund grant. We look forward to working with Colby Newman and other teachers in the Career and Technical Education department to train students on this exciting piece of equipment” said Kristi Ray, Executive Vice President of the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance.
The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance exists to improve the quality of life for Henry County residents through economic growth. The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance includes the Mount Pleasant Area Development Commission, the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Mount Pleasant and Henry County Tourism.