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Local Companies Get Local Training with Kirkwood

By September 5, 2013January 9th, 2019No Comments

A Business Partners Training Consortium session

Kirkwood Community College’s innovative business training series will again this year help local companies conveniently train employees.

Since 1988, the Kirkwood Training & Outreach Services (KTOS) Business Partners Training Consortium has helped eastern Iowa companies improve skills to stay competitive in the region. The nine-session series begins with “Delivering and Receiving Peer-to-Peer Feedback” on Sept. 17.

“Employers appreciate being able to locally source deep and effective employee training,” said Amy Lasak, senior director of corporate training for Continuing Education at Kirkwood. “It reduces costs substantially, as many businesses do not have a travel expenditure, and Kirkwood works hard to keep tuition low and minimize the time employees have to be away from the workplace.”

KTOS partners with local, regional and national consultants to deliver high-level customized training based on the needs of companies. Multi-company participation and state funding allows training costs to be offset by as much as 50 percent.

“RuffaloCODY has found great value in being enrolled in the Business Partners program,” said Rob Ackley, Vice President of Human Resources, RuffaloCODY. “The ability to provide high-quality training to our employees via Business Partners continues to be a great benefit for us overall.”

This year’s training schedule includes nine sessions, from September 2013 through May 2014. Session topics include helping new managers understand their key roles, sharpening customer service skills, effective goal planning, handling difficult conversations, managing talent as it relates to succession planning and much more.

To join the consortium, businesses can invest in one “ticket” for a single session or a “season ticket” for the entire nine-session season. With a “season ticket,” a different employee can attend each session based on the relativity of a topic to the given staff person’s job responsibilities.

For additional information, to see a listing of all sessions and to register, visit http://www.kirkwood.edu/businesspartners.