MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — Iowa Valley Community College District (IVCCD) has been awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide training and technical assistance for small manufacturers across the district's four-county service area.
IVCCD's grant will fund hands-on, in-person training and technical assistance in robotics, automation, industrial software, advanced manufacturing, welding, machine tool competencies, and industrial maintenance for small manufacturers in Hardin, Marshall, Poweshiek, and Tama counties. The program builds on training already delivered through Iowa Valley Business and Community Solutions (BCS) and draws on Marshalltown Community College's (MCC) existing Advanced Manufacturing, welding, machine tool, and electromechanical instruction as well as the Ellsworth Community College welding program.
“The SBA looked at our proven outcomes-based training, which puts people directly into jobs across our region, and decided to invest in it,” said Dr. Anne Howsare Boyens, President of IVCCD. “This grant lets us take what's working in our BCS programs and MCC’s manufacturing pathways and put it directly in the hands of the small manufacturers who need it most.”
The grant award announcement comes as the District launches a new Robotics and Automation Associate of Applied Science (AAS) program at MCC.
“We’re building the pipeline local employers will need five and ten years from now,” said Matt Schmit, MCC Provost. “A lot of small manufacturers in our region may not have their own training department, and they can’t always spare employees for the time needed to get certified. This grant lets us bring robotics, automation, and machine tool training directly to them, taught by instructors who already know their industry.”
The award is part of the SBA’s Manufacturing in America Empower to Grow (E2G) Grant Initiative, which distributed $50 million to 11 technical schools, community colleges, and organizations nationwide to strengthen small manufacturing capacity in critical industries.
Through E2G, eligible small businesses receive free courses, practical workshops, and one-on-one advising to expand operations, workforce capacity, regulatory compliance, and competitiveness in government contracting.
IVCCD was one of 11 organizations selected nationally for the initiative, alongside institutions including Oregon State University, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and the Maine Community College System.