Thriving Workforce Blog

Individuals coming out of prison are often beginning a new type of sentence. After serving their time, they face many more collateral consequences including being unable to get hired for jobs that pay a living wage or to find affordable housing,...

As New Directions Shelter Program Manager at Hawthorn Hill, Kelsie Pinegar hears many stories about challenges central Iowans face as they strive to meet their basic needs and care for families. Many of the shelter’s clients are working and still...

Offering employees a small lending program can help them prevent or handle a small emergency without falling into crisis and to build credit as they repay the loan. As an employer, having employees who are less stressed about finances allows them to...

Offering a small-dollar lending program to your employees can have many benefits for both your business and those who work for you. These programs give employees access to small loans quickly that are then paid off over several weeks or months,...

This month, UnityPoint Health is increasing its minimum pay rate to $15 per hour, impacting nearly 33 percent of its more than 30,000 team members. After several years of small incremental wage increases, the leadership team sped up its timeline to...

There are many reasons to hire someone with a criminal record, and considering this step is important to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace. While many employers are open to the idea of hiring an individual with a criminal record, doing...

Having a committed and hardworking team often requires relationships in the community and a lot of structure to support employee development—all things that are especially challenging as a small business.

“Just waiting for applications to come in,...

Even in a pandemic, the construction industry is still looking to hire skilled workers. One way to gain the skills for those good-paying jobs is to enter an apprenticeship.

An apprenticeship is an opportunity to learn a skilled profession in a...

You may have heard that central Iowa is facing a workforce shortage in skilled trades. Rapid growth in Greater Des Moines and an aging workforce are just a couple of reasons for this shortage. 

Tasked with thinking creatively about how to address...

By Seeta Mangra-Stubbs

Red ink on papers. $300 textbooks. An 8 a.m. math classes you might never use: Maybe college never sounded worth it to you, but everyone says getting a degree or at least some college experience makes a difference in finding a...