MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa —  U.S. Small Business Administration officials visited Marshalltown Community College on Tuesday, Sept. 8, to formally present Iowa Valley Community College District (IVCCD) with the $5 million grant it was awarded last month to expand hands-on manufacturing training across the district's four-county service area. 

SBA Associate Administrator Lisa Shimkat presented the award on behalf of the agency. The grant, announced in August, comes through the SBA's Manufacturing in America Empower to Grow (E2G) Grant Initiative, which distributed $50 million to 11 technical schools, community colleges, and workforce organizations nationwide. IVCCD was the only Iowa institution selected, joining a list that includes Oregon State University, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and the Maine Community College System. 

The funding will support free, in-person training and technical assistance for small manufacturers in Hardin, Marshall, Poweshiek, and Tama counties, covering robotics, automation, industrial software, advanced manufacturing, welding, machine tool competencies, and industrial maintenance. The program builds directly on training already offered through Iowa Valley Business and Community Solutions (BCS) and draws on instructional capacity already in place at MCC and Ellsworth Community College. 

"The SBA looked at our proven outcomes-based training, which puts people directly into jobs across our region, and decided to invest in it," said Dr. Anne Howsare Boyens, IVCCD President, when the award was announced. "This grant lets us take what's working in our BCS programs and MCC's manufacturing pathways and put it directly in the hands of the small manufacturers who need it most." 

The grant lands as IVCCD launches a new Robotics and Automation Associate of Applied Science (AAS) program at MCC, adding a credit pathway alongside the district's non-credit workforce training. 

"We're building the pipeline local employers will need five and ten years from now," said Dr. Matt Schmit, MCC Provost. "A lot of small manufacturers in our region may not have their own training department, and they can't always spare employees for the time needed to get certified. This grant lets us bring robotics, automation, and machine tool training directly to them, taught by instructors who already know their industry." 

IVCCD has 12 months to put the funding to work. BCS will begin scheduling training cohorts and employer outreach across the four-county region in the coming weeks; local manufacturers interested in the training can contact Business and Community Solutions to learn more.