Ground Broken on New NIACC Career Center

Members of First Security Bank and the First Security Charitable Foundation were proud to be in attendance Friday, April 14th 2023 at the groundbreaking ceremony of the NIACC Career Education Training Center in Charles City. The Foundation contributed $125,000 to the project and is the lead donor.

The new NIACC Career Center will be designed to provide local high school students with hands-on experience and college-level education in in-demand career fields including health care, advanced manufacturing, construction, and IT. The courses will be tuition-free for students in the Charles City, Clarksville, Nashua-Plainfield, North Butler, Osage, Riceville, and RRMR school districts.

“We looked at the Iowa Workforce Development data, and those were the largest openings by percentage in the area,” said NIACC President Steve Schulz. “These are the fields that are hiring, and they need the workers.”

For First Security, the project provides an opportunity to serve the business community and the student population at the same time.

“We have a lot of very talented young people in North Iowa, but too often they think they have to leave home to get a good career,” said Matt Bradley, First Security Marketing Manager. “We think this is a vital step in giving our local graduates incentive to stay close to home and improve our local community.”

“Locally-owned banks are the key to economic development, and we just can’t thank them enough for their continued support of this work and this project,” Schulz said.

The new career center will be built as an extension of the current NIACC facility in Charles City. It is scheduled to be ready for students in the fall of 2024. Additional funding comes from bond revenue, a $1 million grant from the Department of Education, and other donors.

First Security Bank & Trust has locations across North Central Iowa and headquarters in Charles City. Member FDIC.