Skip to main content
Around Kirkwood

Kirkwood Bond Sale Boosts Corridor Job Growth

By June 14, 2016November 28th, 2018No Comments

Nineteen area businesses participate in Iowa’s New Jobs Training Program

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (June 14, 2016)-Kirkwood Community College enabled businesses in Iowa’s Creative Corridor to grow, administering the state’s Iowa New Jobs Training Program (260E). The college’s nearly $5 million bond sale helped generate 533 new jobs in eastern Iowa.

260E is the state’s incentive program for businesses located in Iowa. It encourages companies to expand their workforce by using a portion of their withholding taxes to hire and train new employees. The program is administered through community colleges, by which the sale of bonds covers company expenses to hire employees and conduct training for new or existing employees.

According to Kirkwood’s Stephanie Bredman, Iowa New Jobs Training Program manager, “We saw an influx of different companies take advantage of 260E this year. I think this is largely in part because we’ve disproved the idea that it’s ‘too good to be true’. Instead of businesses paying all of their withholding taxes to the state, they are reinvesting them in their companies. 260E is really a seamless process.”

Nineteen businesses representing financial services, information technology, manufacturing, renewable energy and transportation industries participated. Nine of the 19 were new to the program.

“260E is definitely a bonus for starting a company in Iowa,” said Washington County Economic Development Group Director Ed Raber. “Area employers can pay fewer taxes to grow and educate their workforce. This makes employees feel valued, which boosts productivity and the bottom line. It also stimulates the local economy.”

Since 2010, Kirkwood’s 260E bond sale has been used to train 6,025 employees in Iowa’s Creative Corridor. The program has been administered for 119 area companies.

For more information about the program, please visit www.kirkwood.edu/260e.