The Pella Area Community and Economic Alliance moved their quarterly breakfast to Central College from Vermeer Friday morning, and discussed a wide range of updates impacting the community.
The meeting started with a prayer and encouragement to Vermeer and those impacted by Thursday’s storms. PACE Alliance Executive Director Karen Eischen tells KNIA/KRLS News they also discussed an upcoming childcare needs analysis in partnership with the Marion County Development Commission. It is a followup to the housing study completed for the county. The assessment is expected to take eight months, including an analysis phase from August to November and a community planning phase from December to April.
Carla Eysink with the Marion County Development Commission released an existing industry report. The key findings were based on a survey of 37 local key employers of all sizes, and one of the key concerns is workforce recruitment, impacting 90% of those interviewed. There was also a call for improved technology infrastructure. Additionally, Marion County companies outpace other Iowa companies in new product development and sales increases, and nearly three-fourths of employers plan to expand, compared to 49% statewide, however, 45.5% don’t plan to expand locally due to a lack of available workforce locally.