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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Indian Hills is one of several community colleges in Iowa to receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The grant is the result of the Iowa-Advanced Manufacturing, or I-AM, program, in which 15 community colleges across the state work directly with Iowa manufacturers and businesses to help bridge the skills gap between students and the skilled workers the industry is looking for.

Indian Hills will receive around $725,000 over the course of four years and the money will go towards the college's Welding and Machine Technology programs.

Money from the grant will not only allow IHCC to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for students to use and train with, but it will also allow for closer cooperation with the state's companies and associations that students can join when they receive their degree.

"One of the things we're really going to work on is focusing on aligning with some nationally certified third-party associations, the National Association of Manufacturing for the manufacturing technology program and the American Welding Association for the welding program," said Steve Allison, of Indian Hills' Regional Economic Advancement Department. "We're working so that when our students graduate, they'll have that nationally recognized certificate and credential that they can go to any employer and have that in hand."

Some of the grant will also go towards forwarding the education of students at IowaWorks at Hills' north campus.

Allison said the training programs and classes provided in Indian Hills' Advanced Technology program are already cutting edge, and grants like these allow for improvement and adaptation to existing programs, so that students are receiving the best education possible and are prepared and trained to join the workforce a few years down the road.