Our #1 economic challenge is finding qualified and skilled talent. It's estimated that by 2024 there will be 1.9 million jobs in Iowa and just 1.2 million workers age 18-64 to fill them.

Times have changed

• Not so long ago, a high school diploma was widely accepted as the minimum level of education needed to go out into the world to earn a good living. Today, a postsecondary credential is the new minimum because we live in a knowledge economy that increasingly requires lifelong learning.
• In 1960, 60% of US jobs were considered unskilled positions. Now, these jobs account for only 7% of total jobs in our country.
• In 1960, 20% of jobs in the United States required specialized training that involved 1-2 years of additional training beyond high school. Now, 60% of all US jobs will require this type of specialized training

According to a McKinsey study, 72% of education institutions believed recent graduates were ready for work. Only 42% of employers agreed. In 1950, the national graduation rate was 59%. By 2010, this rate increased to 80%. But did you know that students who earn some type of technical certification during high school now graduate at a rate of 97%?

The required skills needed in our workforce can be summed up by the formula 1:2:7. For every one job requiring a masters degree or higher, two Bachelor degree jobs will be available and seven Associate degree or Certificate jobs will be available.

The goals of educational programming must align with business community needs. In the same way, the business community must be actively engaged in owning a solution to their workforce challenges. Existing project based learning experiences provide priceless opportunities for students to acquire workplace learning experiences, engage students in real world projects, and provide authentic interactions that benefit both the personal and professional development of the student.

Community Promise is a complementary student pathway that aligns new CTE strategies with real long term career opportunities. This approach will accelerate traditional project based learning experiences by cultivating immediate employment opportunities for students who we equip to be immediately career ready after high school. We are committed to advancing business engagement opportunities from experience to authentic career pursuit.

70% Future Ready

The CTE redesign initiative, which focuses on middle and high school students, also aligns with the Future Ready Iowa program launched by Gov. Branstad. This legislation will help achieve the Future Ready Iowa goal that 70 percent of Iowans in the workforce have education and training beyond high school by 2025.

Goals of the CTE redesign include:

• Improve access to high-quality CTE through a statewide system of regional planning partnerships to assist school districts in providing an effective, efficient, and economical means of delivering programs.
• Encourage alignment of secondary CTE offerings to in-demand occupations to meet the needs of employers.
• Reform career and academic planning and CTE programming to encourage students to explore opportunities aligned to their interests through holistic career guidance, exploratory CTE coursework, and work-based learning opportunities.

Within our community high schools, curriculum and training opportunities already exist around the following career clusters that support nearly 80 career pathways. These career clusters align with the state’s CTE focus and include:

• Agricultural, Food, and Natural Resources
• Applied Science, Technology, Engineering, and Manufacturing
• Arts, Communication, and Information Systems
• Business, Finance, Marketing, and Management
• Health Science
• Human Services

We've already mapped real jobs in our community to these career clusters. Check out our Job Profiles.

Our Vision

Community Promise capitalizes on career exposure and experiences that lead to authentic career pursuit. We're talking about jobs right in our own backyard. Businesses are ready to build relationships that transform false perceptions of real careers in our community and we're showing them how.

Community Promise promotes careers through the Job Profile database. Here, we talk about careers beyond a title and paycheck. We're educating both students and parents about required training, benefits received, and even advancement opportunities within local industry.

But this is a team effort. Our network of high school counselors design custom academic pathways for students ready to pursue specific careers. We know how to build a plan for every student who connects with a high demand job in our community.

This journey continues with a promise. Community promise delivers financial resources to students committed to specific local career pursuit. We've developed Pursuit Grants to fill financial gaps and support specialized certifications or career training. These grants represent investments by a business into future workforce, by students into their future success, and by Community Promise into our future leaders. It's a community fund investing in the people that define community.

Imagine an environment where students are exposed to high demand careers, provided opportunity to experience and pursue real jobs, all while being equipped and skilled to be career and life ready. Here, we reach higher and achieve more. That is the vision and the power of Community Promise.  

Our Goals

The framework of Community Promise streamlines business engagement activities to create intentional pathways for students seeking an authentic career opportunity. We don't want students to just learn about a job. We want them to pursue and earn that job. Our commitment through Community Promise is that students are connected with immediate job opportunities and equipped with skills to succeed both personally and professionally.

• Our Community Promise is that 70% of graduating seniors will be on a pathway to having education or training beyond high school.
• Our Community Promise is to invest $750,000 in our own talent by 2022 to address the employment needs of our Marion business community.
• Our Community Promise is to create an environment that builds community loyalty and is contagious to talent recruitment.
• Our Community Promise is to be a national leader in creating an insulated talent pipeline that is a competitive advantage for our community.

We invite students and guardians to learn about your Pathway to Success and challenge businesses to make a promise to our future workforce and future leaders.

This is the promise of Marion's exceptional business environment. Will you be all in?