Middle Bit: Future Ready Iowa Employer Innovation Fund awards 14 recipients
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced 14 recipients of the Future Ready Iowa Employer Innovation Fund, a matching grant that helps employers provide postsecondary training and education opportunities for their employees.
The third round of grants will distribute $244,100 to the recipients. The three rounds of Employer Innovation Fund grants have, in total, allocated $1.2 million in funds to 49 awardees across the state.
“Through the Employer Innovation Fund, Future Ready Iowa is working to spur innovation among employers and communities,” said Gov. Reynolds. “We have thousands of open jobs and rewarding careers and that is why we launched Future Ready Iowa. The Employer Innovation Fund is just one way we can help remove the barriers to postsecondary training and education and help Iowans achieve their goals.”
Funding for the grant was passed by the Iowa Legislature in 2019, making this the first year for the Future Ready Iowa Employer Innovation Fund.
“The Employer Innovation Fund has quickly become an important tool for employers investing in growing their skilled workforce and nonprofits and community groups looking to help those with the most barriers complete skills training,” Director Beth Townsend, Iowa Workforce Development. “The Future Ready Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship takes care of tuition and fees but that is not often the barrier for individuals to receive training. The programs proposed through the Employer Innovation Fund address those barriers in creative and innovative ways and not only will help Iowa meet the Future Ready Iowa goal, but also provide hope and inspiration to those who may have been left behind in our economic success.”
Click here to see the all of the Employer Innovation Fund Round 3 recipients.
Bay Area Entrepreneur Speaking in Iowa City
Bay Area entrepreneur, Jon Fisher, will be in Iowa City giving a speech on the topic of “Being Human in Silicon Valley.”
Jon Fisher is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, author, and CEO and co-founder of augmented reality streaming startup, CrowdOptic. As co-inventor and co-founding CEO, Fisher built three companies including Bharosa – which produced the Oracle Adaptive Access Manager product used in online banking processes.
Fisher was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Emerging Category in 2007 and his first book Strategic Entrepreneurism: Shattering Start-Up Entrepreneurial Myths is required reading for the MBA program at several prestigious schools. He is dedicated to spreading the message that it is possible to achieve financial success without sacrificing family values.
The first 300 attendees will go home with a free copy of Fisher’s book Strategic Entrepreneurialism: Shattering Start-Up Entrepreneurial Myths.
GLOBAL INSURANCE SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCES OPEN REGISTRATION
The Global Insurance Symposium has opened registration for the 2020 event and is officially open to the public.
This year, approximately 700 insurance and technology leaders from around the globe will gather in Des Moines, Iowa for the 2020 Global Insurance Symposium on April 21-23.
The annual symposium provides a venue for the insurance industry to address important issues impacting the marketplace with a primary focus on technology, policy, and innovation.
Additional event details will be released in the weeks leading up to this year’s symposium.
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