Guthrie County was recently designated as a Skilled Iowa Community.

Midwest Partnership Executive Director Sarah Gomez says the Skilled Iowa Community Initiative helps to develop Iowa’s workforce by encouraging individuals to earn the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC). The program measures basic workplace skills and employers are encouraged to recognize the certification in their interview and hiring process. The total number of individuals that tested for the NCRC was 207 and 63 businesses were committed to the process.

With Guthrie County’s designation, Gomez points out that Midwest Partnership’s entire four-county region is Skilled Iowa Communities.

“That’s really good to be a part of. I think that will further our marketing efforts when we’re looking to attract businesses to move to the area. It’s just one more thing that we can talk about and show them that we have a Skilled Iowa Community, and we have workers that are knowledgeable and ready to go to work for them.

  Midwest Partnership includes Guthrie, Greene, Audubon and Adair counties.