Pella High Student Amanda Stanley speaks at the Future Ready Iowa press conference.
Pella High Student Amanda Stanley speaks at Future Ready Iowa
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Governor Terry Branstad launched the Future Ready Iowa Alliance at the Career Academy of Pella Monday morning.
He signed Executive Order 88, which creates a group charged with developing and recommending a strategic plan by October 31, 2017 to have 70 percent of Iowa’s workforce with training or education beyond high school by 2025.
“Reaching this goal is critical to assure Iowans have great career opportunities, and employers can hire enough of the skilled workers they need,” Branstad says.
The governor says Pella is model community for the project, citing its economic strength and quality educational institutions.
“You have the advantage in Pella of having some really world-renowned companies that have partnered with the community,” Branstad says. “We’re looking for partners all over the state of Iowa, some communities are blessed with more resources than others. But we’re going to encourage this to be done all over, and we’re encouraging communities to look for partners wherever they might be.”
Branstad was joined by Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, Pella Superintendent Greg Ebeling, Pella High Senior Amanda Stanley, Teri Vos with Vermeer Corporation, President and CEO of Principal Financial Dan Houston and President of Lumina Foundation Jamie Merisotis.
Stanley told KNIA/KRLS after her speech she was excited to share her story in the Pella School system.
“I talked about what my future goals are and skills that I think are important and why agriculture is so important, and also why this building is so important to us,” she says. “It’s only been two years that we’ve had this career academy, but there’s been so much success with it that I think putting it all throughout the state will really help our state and economy a ton.”