At a recent breakfast meeting, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Riverland Community College President Adenuga Atewologun and other campus leaders, as well as Reps. Jeanne Poppe and Peggy

Bennett. I am thrilled about Riverland’s new plans for a renovation at their Albert Lea campus, as well as the addition of three new agriculture-based programs slated to begin this fall at the Austin campus.

Riverland explained that their renovation project is coming at a “do or die time,” according to the college’s physical plant manager. Due to competition from other area colleges (including educational institutions in Iowa) and the campus’s outdated equipment, their $7.5 million bonding request is an important part of preparing Minnesota’s workforce for the jobs of tomorrow. Essentially, the renovation project will improve the program space for the collision repair and truck driving courses, which are moving from the Austin to the Albert Lea campus. Additionally, the campus plans on having multiple tech and trade courses share space and equipment in the renovated area, which helps students better collaborate and cross-train, and will help the school save money in the long run.

My take-away from our discussion is that they are responding to workforce needs from businesses in our area. The demand for trades like welding, machining, wind and solar as well construction, electrician and similar skilled labor fields is increasing. It’s important to our businesses that they hire locally and equally important to our schools that they are graduating students with skills that are in-demand.

Riverland is also responding to our workforce needs through program reform. New agriculture-based programs include associate’s degrees in food science technology, agriculture sciences and biotechnology. These are degrees that are in demand in southern Minnesota, and I applaud Riverland for their partnership with local businesses and their timely response to needs in the marketplace.

It’s this type of collaboration with higher education institutions and businesses that the Minnesota legislature is looking to expand. As a member of the Senate Higher Education Committee, we are expecting substantial proposals in the coming weeks and months that will address these workforce issues. We also like to see high schools working with higher education and businesses to ensure students are aware of which skills and degrees are in high demand. I look forward to continuing to work on this issue in the Senate this year and appreciate any input or questions on how we can help improve workforce development in our area.

This week the Senate passed the bills on federal conformity and disaster relief. The disaster relief bill provides state matching funds for FEMA declared disaster areas. The counties of Freeborn, Faribault, Dodge and Steele in Senate District 27 were included in this legislation.

If you have questions regarding these or other matters, please contact my office at 651-296-9248.

 

Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, is the state senator for District 27.