Iowa Western celebrates 3 new programs during National Apprenticeship Week
Iowa Western Community College is celebrating three new apprenticeship programs as it literally builds expanded opportunities for career education.
Council Bluffs Mayor Jill Shudak, left, takes a tour of Kinney Hall with Matt Mancuso, vice president and business and community education at Iowa Western Community College, after reading a proclamation for National Apprenticeship Week on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Council Bluffs Mayor Jill Shudak visited campus Thursday. April 23, and took a tour of Kinney Hall — while work is underway to expand facilities on the campus for more trades programs — before reading a proclamation for National Apprenticeship Week, which began Sunday and runs through Saturday.
"At Iowa Western, we're really proud to work alongside Mayor Shudak and city leadership as well as our industry partners to expand our apprenticeship opportunities," Matt Mancuso, vice president and business and community education at Iowa Western Community College, told Shudak prior to the proclamation. "We really believe that not everybody goes through the traditional routes of college. We need to look at different pathways for different people."
Matt Mancuso, vice president of business and community education at Iowa Western Community College, delivers remarks before a proclamation for…
Natalie Harris, Iowa Western's director of business resources, said that this year Iowa Western has launched diesel mechanic, plumbing, and heating, ventilating and air-conditioning registered apprenticeship programs, in which students spend 2,000 hours training on the job with 144 hours of classroom instruction.
"It's just really a win-win for area employers," Harris said. "The apprentices get to earn while they learn, and employers get a highly skilled workforce."
Harris said Iowa Western is working on entry and recruitment into the skilled trades, with free intensive boot camps launching this summer for unemployed or underemployed community members.
"They will serve as an on-ramp for registered apprenticeship," Harris said.
Council Bluffs Mayor Jill Shudak, left, poses for a photo with Natalie Harris, director of business resources at Iowa Western Community College, after signing a proclamation for National Apprenticeship Week at Kinney Hall on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Shudak said she's a graduate of Iowa Western, and she praised the programs at the community college as vital to growing a workforce needed to build housing and other development in Council Bluffs.
"I come from a family that believes in the trades," Shudak said. "Traditional college is not for everybody."
The Council Bluffs community "is built on the hands of hard-working people," Shudak said, noting the need for skilled labor for projects underway in the city.
"It is so important that we have the people who are skilled and who are licensed and registered to be doing the work for our community," Shudak said. "I'm proud to be here, and I'm proud to support labor in any way possible."
Council Bluffs Mayor Jill Shudak reads a proclamation declaring National Apprenticeship Week in the city during a visit to Kinney Hall at Iowa…
Natalie Harris, director of business resources at Iowa Western Community College, left, and Council Bluffs Mayor Jill Shudak pose for a photo celebrating a proclamation for National Apprenticeship Week at Kinney Hall on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
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Council Bluffs Mayor Jill Shudak delivers remarks for National Apprenticeship Week in the city during a visit to Kinney Hall at Iowa Western C…
