Developing a connection with the workforce professionals at IowaWORKS Centers provide a number of benefits, including:
- access to no-cost training and workshops
- opportunity to earn training certificates
- access to career and skills assessments
- coaching and assistance in writing a resume
- assistance with completing electronic applications
- personal assistance in locating employment opportunities in your desired field
Maximize Your Potential: Workshops
IowaWORKS workshops are a great tool to help guide you toward a new career - covering the best topics for job seekers. Virtual presentations are given regularly by IowaWORKS staff. Contact your local office for more information.
Don't have time to attend a workshop? Check out our top virtual presentations below!
AJC 101
A step by step presentation on how to confidently navigate within the IowaWORKS.gov website, and also learn about the core partners within an American Job Centers and how they can assist you! Click to view presentation.
Create a great resume
This workshop provides a foundation for your job search: how to stay positive during your search. Learn how to get the interview you want by preparing the resume that best sells you to prospective employers! Click to view presentation.
interview and negotiate
Make your interview stand out by avoiding interview pitfalls and answering the tough questions correctly! Click to view presentation.
essential tools for job seekers
Learn about the resources and services available to job seekers in the IowaWORKS American Job Centers, including O*NET Assessment, Job Searching, Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviewing! Click to view presentation.
Additional Workshops
Maintain a Positive Attitude
The “secret sauce” of having a successful job search is not only in the steps you take, but also in the attitude and mindset with which you take them. This workshop provides a foundation for your job search: how to stay positive during your search.
Develop A Career Plan and Research Industry Trends
Building short and long-term career plans based on skills and interest assessments can help you create a career plan designed to help you succeed. Exploring online resources on employment trends is also important to your search, and identifying occupational requirements and the right opportunities for training or education to your enhance skills can be a challenge. Knowing where to get the most accurate information can mean the difference between hours wasted and time invested. This workshop will help you discover what is important to you in planning your career, and will expose you to the tools necessary to put that plan into action, including how you are spending your research time as wisely as possible in supporting your job search.
Workshop Resources (click to view):
Conduct a Job Search
Conducting an effective job search isn't just about maintaining a positive attitude, sticking to your career plan, conducting effective industry research and crafting strong resumes. Learning how to target opportunities and effectively network through this workshop, you can explore and tap into the "hidden job market."
Skill Upgrades and Training Services
Skill upgrades and training services are targeted to move workers into post-secondary educational pipelines and career pathways to enter into and advance in good jobs in high growth and emerging occupations. Training services are provided by training providers on Iowa's Eligible Training Provider List. Eligibility requirements must be met to qualify for these services. To determine eligibility, contact your nearest IowaWORKS Center.
Office Proficiency Assessment and Certification System
The Office Proficiency Assessment and Certification (OPAC) System is the premier PC and office skills testing suite. With an array of over 30 tests—the OPAC System is the perfect tool to measure job applicant PC and office skills.
ACT WorkKeys®
ACT WorkKeys® is a job skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop and retain a high-performance workforce. This series of tests measures foundational and soft skills and offers specialized assessments to target institutional needs.
Successful completion of ACT WorkKeys® assessments in Applied Mathematics, Locating Information and Reading for Information can lead to earning ACT's National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), a portable credential earned by more than 2.3 million people across the United States. If you are interested in taking the NCRC assessments, you may schedule a time at one of the IowaWORKS Centers. The calendar of testing times and locations is available on the IowaWORKS website.
ACT Curriculum
ACT Curriculum is a comprehensive program that brings together courses from both ACT KeyTrain and the ACT Soft Skills Suite.
The program offers an integrated approach to exploring careers and their skill requirements and builds life-literacy through lessons about financial awareness, job searching and more.
IWD provides access to Curriculum at no cost. Contact your nearest IowaWORKS Center for an account.
O*Net Resources
O*NET is the United States’ primary source of occupational information. Its database contains information on hundreds of standardized and occupation-specific descriptions and is continually updated. O*NET OnLine is the interactive application for exploring and searching occupations. The database is also the basis for Career Exploration Tools, a set of valuable assessments for job seekers and students looking to find or change careers.
LearningExpress™ Library
LearningExpress Library provides a comprehensive selection of academic and career-related resources available in one platform. It includes academic skill building in reading, writing, math and science. It also offers standardized test preparation, soft skills training, job search and career advancement, college admissions test preparation, professional licensing and certification test preparation, high school equivalency test prep and much more.
For additional information regarding any of these resources, contact your nearest IowaWORKS Center.