CLARINDA, Iowa – Iowa Western Community College in Clarinda recently showed off its Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing during recent Manufacturing Day tours for area high school students. The CEAM program partners with area manufacturers to provide hands-on training focused on industry needs, with scholarship money and other financial support enabling southwest Iowa residents to jump-start their careers in the skilled trades.

Photo’s courtesy IWCC

Students from Council Bluffs, Clarinda and South Page toured Iowa Western’s Clarinda Center and nearby Lisle Corp., a 115-year-old specialty tool manufacturer in Clarinda. Lisle Corp. is part of a consortium of four area manufacturers looking to grow a workforce in southwest Iowa for workers interested in high-paying, quality careers.

CEAM brings together Lisle Corp., NSK-AKS Precision Ball Co. and NSK Corp. in Clarinda along with MAHLE Engine Components USA Inc. of Atlantic as partners to grow the available workforce and provide additional training for those companies’ employees. CEAM offers a two-year non-credit certificate program that’s primarily hands-on and focused on industry needs.

The program is open to 15 students each year, with 12 slots earmarked for employees of partnering businesses. After core classes their first year, students choose either an electro-mechanical or a tool and die track for their second year. The field trip allowed the high schoolers to see an alternative pathway to education after high school – one that’s hands-on and focuses on career skills that are immediately applicable.