New frontiers

Iowa consortium looks for diversity

More than seventy companies and organizations came together to promote the state's technical opportunities to diverse techies. Early arrivals enjoy the homespun values they find

It's a job seeker's dream: lots of companies targeting only diverse techies, and offering them careers in IT, engineering, biotech, management and research. To top it off, the local quality of life includes friendly communities, top-notch schools, affordable housing and convenient access to recreation and the arts.

All this - in the state of Iowa
Government leaders and a consortium of Iowa businesses, educational institutions and professional organizations teamed up to create the Smart Career Move program. The campaign attracts a diverse pool of skilled workers by making them aware of the progressive, innovative businesses in the state.

The Iowa Department of Economic Development makes job training available to meet a variety of business needs.

Although a lot of out-of-staters assume that Iowa is farmland, there are scads of opportunities in the high-tech sector, says Kay Snyder, senior marketing manager for the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

"Our biggest challenge is the out-of-state perception of us," she says. "Sure, we are an agricultural state, but we also have a lot of biotech companies and those in many other technical fields. We have a lot of opportunities to offer techies."

In 1998 the state government organized a series of roundtable discussions about the challenges companies would see in the coming decade. The number one issue was workforce recruitment, Snyder says.

Since then, the Iowa Human Resource Recruitment Consortium has created www.smartcareermove.com, a website with links to corporate, community and state sites that posts jobs in all career fields. So far, the site has listed more than a thousand jobs and resumes, and more than 17,000 job seekers get regular e-mails about newly posted jobs.

The site also offers info about life in Iowa. One proud example: the state's public education system consistently ranks at the top, and SAT scores are some of the highest in the nation.

Going national
At first, the Smart Career Move program focused on attracting people who had grown up in Iowa but then left the state. But now, Snyder says, the consortium is increasing its efforts to appeal to techies with diverse ethnic backgrounds from all over. Members are participating in career fairs put on by Black Data Processing Associates, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Society of Women Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the National Society of Black Engineers and more.

"We're continuing to develop strategies to recruit diverse people," Snyder says. "We now have a multi-cultural committee. We also support efforts to retain the workers who have chosen Iowa. We want them to know that they can realize their personal and professional goals here."

EE Muhammed Rahim's job takes him to MidAmerican Energy substations.

For Muhammed Rahim of MidAmerican Energy Company, (Des Moines, IA) Iowa is just such a place. When Rahim first came to Iowa State University in 1998, he had the support of family, a strong Muslim community and others from his home country of Bangladesh.

After he graduated in 2002 with a degree in electrical engineering, he decided to make Iowa his home. He took a job with
MidAmerican Energy Company, the state's largest utility.

"It was the kind of work I wanted to do. On top of that, the company was based in Iowa, and I could stay close to family. Having lived here for five years, I like Iowa. Most of my friends from college live here, too," Rahim says.

At first, the cultural change from Bangladesh was a shock, he says. "But Iowa is calm and pleasant. The people are friendly and welcoming. I've had no problems adjusting," says Rahim.

At MidAmerican Energy, Rahim works for the system protection department, which ensures that the protective devices in the system work properly. "We prevent surges and work closely with substation operations. We also design and develop all the protection schemes in the power system," Rahim says.

MidAmerican Energy serves more than 680,000 electric customers and more than 660,000 natural gas customers in a 10,600-square mile area from Sioux Falls, SD, to the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois on the Mississippi River.

Rahim spends much of his time programming protective elements like relays. "Modern-day relays are nothing but computers," he says. "They are supposed to protect the system from any undesired or unnatural behavior."

Rahim says there are "lots of people who have the same background as I have" in Iowa. "As far as the Muslim religious issues go, we have a Mosque here where prayers are held regularly, and I attend there. There's a strong Muslim community here," he says.

He doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon and is building a house. "It would be hard for me to move to a different location. Also, the people I work with are great guys!"

D/C

- Heidi Russell Rafferty