WE Build Waterloo Receives Exemplary Program Award from National Council for Workforce Education
posted on Thursday, October 5, 2023 in
College News
WATERLOO–Hawkeye Community College’s WE Build Waterloo program has received a 2023 Exemplary Program Award from the National Council for Workforce Education (NCWE).
Each year, NCWE recognizes two colleges with Exemplary Program Awards in two categories: Credit Workforce Development Program and Noncredit Workforce Development Program. Award recipients are chosen based on six application criteria: executive summary; description of partnerships and collaborations; potential economic impact; advancing access, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging; program results; and replication.
Representatives from Hawkeye and WE Build Waterloo accepted the Noncredit Workforce Development Program award this week during the NCWE Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.
A community-based quality pre-apprenticeship program, WE Build Waterloo provides a 12-week tuition-free non-credit competency-based education to individuals with employment barriers. In addition to learning high-demand construction skills, students earn industry-recognized certifications and receive career counseling, resume assistance, interview preparation, team building, and leadership and personal skills development. During the program, students engage in a residential construction or rehabilitation that is later sold to a family connected to Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity.
WE Build was founded on principles of redefining access to college education, redeveloping neglected neighborhoods, and serving the community holistically, while creating a talent pipeline for the construction industry. More than a workforce training program; WE Build Waterloo is a community development program providing a talent pipeline to local registered apprenticeship employers and sponsors. It helps reduce poverty through education, increases access to quality affordable housing, and revitalizes blighted neighborhoods.
The NCWE is an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges. For more information about WE Build Waterloo, visit m4cr.orkexpo.net/we-build.
Pictured: Representatives from Hawkeye Community College accept the Exemplary Noncredit Workforce Program Award during the National Council for Workforce Education Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.
Tags
- Awards
- Business and Community Education
- WE Build Waterloo