Iowa Central Leads the Way in Workforce Development Through Innovative Elanco Apprenticeship Partnership

Emily Denholm, Director of Marketing & Communications
8/20/2026

Just one week after Iowa Central Community College made national headlines as the site of the launch of the first Workforce Pell program in the nation, the college is continuing to demonstrate what innovative workforce education can look like through a new apprenticeship partnership with Elanco.

The three-year program gives Malaki Pettigrew, Jesus Gutierrez and Boyce Harris the opportunity to earn an Iowa Central technical certificate in Industrial Maintenance while gaining paid, hands-on experience at Elanco’s Fort Dodge facility, creating a direct pathway to careers as maintenance mechanics.

The apprentices will be paid by Elanco throughout the program while splitting their time between Iowa Central’s classrooms and labs and Elanco’s research and production facility.

At Elanco, the apprentices will rotate through several areas of the facility, including the boiler room, electrical equipment and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) departments. They will spend approximately six months in each area, gaining experience with the systems and equipment used throughout the facility.

Their Iowa Central coursework will complement that hands-on experience, providing the technical knowledge needed to build a strong foundation in industrial maintenance.

Upon completion of the three-year apprenticeship, the apprentices will earn a technical certificate in Industrial Maintenance from Iowa Central and receive a job offer from Elanco.

The program is a three-apprentice pilot that represents approximately a year and a half of collaboration between Iowa Central and Elanco leaders.

The partnership also reflects Iowa Central’s continued focus on developing education and training opportunities around the needs of the workforce. Just one week ago, the college hosted U.S. Department of Education leaders and workforce partners for the launch of the first Workforce Pell program in the nation, highlighting Iowa Central’s role in expanding access to short-term workforce education and training.

While the Workforce Pell program creates new opportunities for individuals to access workforce education, the Elanco apprenticeship demonstrates another approach: working directly with an employer to develop a training pathway around specific skills and career opportunities.

The Elanco partnership builds on Iowa Central’s existing apprenticeship education. The college’s Electrical Apprenticeship Program, for example, combines classroom theory, laboratory instruction and employer-provided on-the-job training. The program is approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, meets Iowa’s educational requirements for electrical licensure and provides coursework that can be applied toward an Associate of Applied Science degree.

Iowa Central continues to work with employers and industry partners to identify opportunities for additional training and apprenticeship pathways in high-demand fields.

For Pettigrew, Gutierrez and Harris, the Elanco apprenticeship marks the beginning of a three-year journey toward new skills and careers. For Iowa Central, it is another example of the college’s commitment to connecting education with opportunity and helping build a skilled workforce for the communities it serves.