Business & Industry

This 10-module program teaches you how to bring out the best in employees, increase employee engagement, and performance.

Modules: 

• Role of the Leader 

• Managing Different Personalities 
• Motivating & Engaging Employees 
• Teamwork & Collaboration 
• Communication Effectiveness 
• Managing Performance I: Providing Clear Direction 
• Managing Performance II: Employee Development Model 
• Coaching for Commitment 
• Managing Conflict 
• Managing Change 

Learn to Lead

This six-module program uses the Leadership Practices Inventory to build effective, adaptive, and confident leaders. 

Modules: 

• The Emergence of a New Leadership Mindset 
• Leading Change: Meeting the Challenges of the Emerging Future 
• Strengthening Organizational Adaptive Capacity 
• The Future of Managing & Leading 
• Dialogue & Personal Transformation 
• My Journey: First Steps 

Go Beyond Management

This four-module program offers tools to manage conflict and foster a positive, collaborative work environment. 

Modules: 

• Listening Skills 
• The Conflict Episode 
• Conflict Management: Solution Paths 
• Collaborative Decision-Making 

Resolve Conflicts & Collaborate Better

This four-module program builds emotional intelligence (EI) and emotional quotient (EQ) to increase workplace success. Learn how to work best with others, collaborate, thrive under demand, and respond to change. 

Modules: 

• Self-Awareness 
• Self-Control 
• Empathy 
• Social Skills 

Develop Emotional Intelligence

This program — which supports businesses that are creating new jobs or relocating to Iowa — works to build skills of new employees and allow them to achieve higher levels of productivity. The program pays for direct training costs, reimburses companies for up to 50% of trainee salaries, and offers a corporate income tax credit. 

The New Jobs Training Program will:

• Reimburse the company for up to 50 percent of trainees' salaries while they are learning on the job.
• Enable the company to contract for training with the college, or other contracted services.
• Cover 100 percent of direct training costs such as:
  • Instructional development, prescreening and assessment costs
  • Instructor salaries, travel and housing, even if they are in-house trainers
  • Training facilities, equipment, materials and supplies

In addition to training funds, companies that participate in the program and increase their employment by 10 percent, qualify for a corporate income tax credit equal to 6 percent of the taxable wage base of the state unemployment compensation rate for each new job created.

Program Funding

To generate the training reimbursement funds, the college sells bond certificates to investors. The purchasing of these bond certificates by investors creates the pool of funds from which the college can reimburse a company’s training costs.  In short, the investors loan the college the funds.

Paying Back The Investors

The payback of the bond certificates/loan is made by using the company’s Iowa employee withholding taxes.  The program allows a company to divert a portion of the Iowa new employees’ withholding taxes over to the college. The college then uses these funds to make the bond/loan payments each year for 10 years.

To promote the creation of high-quality jobs within Iowa, a supplemental withholding tax credit may be calculated for new positions with wage levels meeting or exceeding established criteria. This extended funding source allows for an additional portion of the new employees’ payroll withholding taxes to be applied to the project, increasing the potential training funds available.

Because of this structure, the training is available at what is essentially no cost since the bonds are repaid with dollars that otherwise would have been paid to the state as withholding taxes.

Program Eligibility

Iowa companies that are creating new jobs and are engaged in manufacturing, processing, assembling products, warehousing, wholesaling, or conducting research and development are eligible to participate in the program. Businesses engaged in the provision of services that have customers outside of Iowa may also be eligible.

See the roadmap to your 260E program

This program provides state-funded forgivable loans or grants to Iowa businesses for the training and development of existing employees. EICC works with each business to determine their eligibility and assist them with the application process. 

Available training funds vary based on business need and are awarded through an application process.  

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges works one-on-one with businesses to review eligibility and provide assistance with completing the application process.  Businesses receiving an award of $5,000 or greater will contribute a cash match based upon the total training cost.

Program Eligibility

Businesses eligible to participate in this program must be located in Iowa and engaged in interstate or intrastate commerce for the purpose of:

• Manufacturing, processing, assembling products, warehousing, wholesaling
• Conducting research and development.
• Biotechnology, renewable energy or information technology
• Providing services in interstate commerce

See the guidelines for your 260F program

The Muscatine Learning Consortium is a partnership between EICC and local companies to address common training needs. There’s no cost to become a member of the consortium, and members only pay for training sessions they choose to attend. Class topics range from Microsoft Office to personal development. 

To get involved contact:

Katie Watson, Business Solutions Consultant

klwatson@eicc.edu
563-288-6012

Sector Boards — focused on Advanced Manufacturing, Health, Information Technology, and Logistics and Transportation focuses — work on long-range planning initiatives. They positively impact local communities by working with employers to anticipate future needs and develop plans to meet those needs. Local companies are encouraged to participate in board meetings. 

Plan with Sector Boards 

The Eastern Iowa Small Business Development Center (SBDC) — one of 13 centers in the Iowa SBDC network — has served Scott, Clinton, Jackson, and Muscatine counties since 1985. The SBDC offers several services to local businesses, including: 

• One-on-one business counseling by qualified professionals 
• Learning opportunities, including workshops, classes, online assistance, and publications 
• Connections to other service providers, resources, and sources of capital 

Meet the SBDC Staff