One of the key priorities for Governor Kim Reynolds since she took office was growing Iowa’s workforce, and that work has continued this legislative session after she was elected to her first full term to the office.

Reynolds says the Future Ready Iowa initiative, passed unanimously by Republicans and Democrats, is a key piece of legislation laying the foundation for job training and education programs to bolster Iowa’s employee base.

While the success of the program in schools, such as Pella’s Career Academy, have made headlines early in the process, Reynolds says the challenge now is to make gains among unconventional employee sources, namely in prisons as inmates end their time serving.

Reynolds says criminal reform and getting that population back on track will only serve to further the ongoing challenges businesses and industries face after nearly two years of record low unemployment.

“We’re doing things like job fairs in the prisons, trying to figure out how to get them a driver’s license before they leave, how we get them on a payment plan if they have debt to pay back to their victims,” Reynolds says. “So all of those things help them be more successful when they get out, it helps reduce the amount of recidivism, and it helps out employers.”

“Here’s the thing–employers need workers so bad that they are willing to really take a look at giving people a second chance and I don’t know if that was always the case.”

She says Iowa remains a leader in expanding career training opportunities in the country, as was affirmed to her in a recent trip to Washington D.C.