A federal grant will help Iowa Western Community College and other two-year institutions across the state prepare programs for new student aid funding aimed at short-term certificate programs.
The federal government is rolling out Workforce Pell grants, extending the signature student aid program serving students enrolled in colleges to career preparation programs. The first Workforce Pell grants were rolled out this summer, with the nation's first eligible program approved in Iowa.
A 14-week program to prepare emergency medical technicians at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge became the first Workforce Pell grant accepting program, the U.S. Department of Education announced Aug. 14.
“After decades of debate and a lot of hard work, Workforce Pell is finally here – opening up new opportunities for students to use their Pell Grants on programs that will help them jumpstart their careers,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a news release celebrating the milestone.
Iowa Western Community College is working on brining Workforce Pell grants to Council Bluffs and the rest of its service area across Southwest Iowa.
Iowa Western President Dan Kinney told The Nonpareil in an interview that the college has already sought program approval for its emergency medical technician program, hoping to jumpstart training in a critically in-demand field in the region.
"We have that in, and we're just waiting," Kinney said. "Our continuing ed department and our community and business education department are now looking at six or seven more that we're going to start putting together to apply for this next year, so we can continue to grow."
Kinney said Iowa Western started with the EMT program because a lot of rural volunteer fire departments in the area have a "dramatic" need for certified professionals. Next up will be the college's commercial driver's license program.
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Iowa Western Community College’s campanile on its main campus in
Council Bluffs is shown near sunset on July 30, 2025.
SCOTT STEWART, THE NONPAREIL
Iowa Western will receive just shy of $500,000 from a $10.8 million grant recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to help jump-start Workforce Pell eligible programs across the state. The Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grant funding is being administered by Hawkeye Community College in partnership with the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Workforce Development and the state's network of community colleges.
The Iowa Systems, Training, and Resources for Opportunity, Navigation, and Growth program will prepare more than 50 training programs across the state to access the student aid funding, according to a news release. Career fields will include advanced manufacturing, construction, skilled trades and healthcare.
"Workforce Pell represents a significant opportunity to expand access to education and training for students who need flexible, affordable pathways to good careers," Kinney sad in the release. "This investment will help strengthen our workforce pipeline, support regional employers, and create new opportunities for residents throughout southwest Iowa.”
Iowa STRONG will also enhance Iowa Workforce Development's wage record reporting infrastructure and pay for employer outreach as well as statewide data integration and outcomes reporting, the release states.
Kinney told The Nonpareil that expanding the student aid grants from the credit courses at Iowa Western to the short-term training programs will help "better serve our residents and put these high demand, high wage jobs in our communities."
Areas Iowa Western is exploring also includes manufacturing, construction, skilled trades and healthcare as well as transportation, emergency medicine and installation and repair of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems.
Kinney encouraged anyone interested in a training program to reach out to the college, even though the Workforce Pell isn't an option quite yet. The college can help connect students with scholarships and other options as well as keep them informed of developments as the programs are aligned for Workforce Pell.
"Unfortunately, a lot of these types of programs, people had to pay out their pocket," Kinney said. "Higher eduction has always been built around the credit side and, to me, this fast, quicker training is, I think, the future of higher education. And now, we, as Iowa Western, is really stepping up."
