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Board members express concern about Job Corps closure and local workforce impact
Summary
Supervisors and speakers discussed the announced closure of the federal Job Corps campus at the end of the month and potential workforce impacts for local residents who worked there, noting differing graduation-rate statistics cited during the meeting.
Board members and speakers at the Wapello County meeting on May 20 expressed concern about the announced closure of a Job Corps campus and the likely effect on workers and trainees with ties to the region.
A supervisor said the two Iowa Job Corps centers, including Denison’s, have local graduation rates in the “90 percent” range, though the speaker quoted a national aggregate graduation rate of “38 percent” as part of the rationale given by officials for closures. “There’s gonna be a lot of displaced people,” the supervisor said, noting that many Job Corps participants travel from across the country and that relatively few are local hires.
The speaker described the program as providing strict training and discipline and urged local partners to explore options; the transcript records that Indian Hills Community College is looking at potential responses. The board did not take formal action on the Job Corps issue at the meeting.
