A nearly $1 million federal grant will provide biotech training to at least 1,000 Iowans and be used to create a national biotech training model, officials said Tuesday.
The grant is part of President Bush's efforts to create "high-paying, high-growth jobs" across the nation, said Steven Law, U.S. deputy labor secretary, during a press conference in Urbandale.
U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Ia., said Iowa already has strong demand for biotech workers in the state's ethanol, food, and plant and animal industries.
"Iowa has the right tools to be a leader in biotechnology," he said.
A recent study showed the state should invest $300 million during 10 years to become a national leader in the biotech industry.
Jim Lindenmayer, president of Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, said students graduating from the college's 21-month biotech training program are paid between $35,000 and $40,000 annually. The college will administer the grant.
Indian Hills created a biotech training center eight years ago at the request of Cargill Inc., which has corn processing operations in Eddyville and needed skilled workers.
Laura Crane, a machinist who lost her job at Rockwell International, received biotech training at Indian Hills and now works in a lab at Cargill. Crane said she earns about as much as she did on the factory floor and can remain in southern Iowa, where she grew up.
The grant also will be used to a develop a curriculum model for community colleges, assess worker skills, and educate adults and middle- and high-school students about the opportunities in biotechnology.
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