News : Kirkwood Opens Skills Survey 2027 to Area Employers

Survey seeks input about regional workforce needs from businesses across industries

Kirkwood Community College has announced the launch of the Skills Survey 2027, a questionnaire seeking input from businesses in the college's seven-county service area about the future needs of the area's workforce. The survey is open to all area employers and is live now through August 29, 2025, at www.kirkwood.edu/skills2027.

For more than a decade, the Skills Report has been a tool used by Kirkwood to ensure the college and area workforce partners have the necessary information to respond to the unique skill and workforce challenges facing the region. The data from the Skills Survey 2027 will play a critical role in the following areas:

• To understand the education/credential requirements for workforce talent from January 2025 through December 2027
• To understand workforce talent needs by industry sector
• To assist economic and workforce partners and employers in responding to the most pressing talent development issues
• To guide regional career pathway development, workforce policy, and workforce attraction strategies

To Kirkwood Vice President of Continuing Education and Training Services Cheri Kampman, the survey is a crucial tool that helps ensure the college is addressing the right needs for both employers and their employees.

"The Skills Survey 2027 is a powerful way for us to hear directly from employers and help ensure our programming remains relevant, responsive, and aligned with the real-world demands of our region's economy," said Kampman.

Kirkwood's Director of Corporate Training Services Quinn Pettifer looks forward to what findings from the survey will mean for future planning.

"By receiving the data from this survey, we can build stronger talent pipelines that benefit both our students and the communities we serve," said Pettifer.

The estimated time to fill out the survey is fifteen minutes and includes multiple choice and text-entry questions. Survey results will be analyzed with plans to present findings and recommendations in aggregate later this year.

The deadline for respondents to fill out the survey is Friday, August 29.

Kirkwood Continuing Education notes nearly 30,000 annual enrollments in classes ranging from industry certification to career development to personal enrichment. Over the last 20 years, the number of new jobs created through Kirkwood's Continuing Education & Training Services has exceeded 14,000.