In This Issue..

• "Jump Start" for Southeast Indiana
• Bloomington Life Sciences Center
• Federal Tax Credit program for employers renewed
• Indiana working families profiled
• Hire a Hoosier Vet Job Fair
• New Web Site for South Bend Work One parent

About this Newsletter

Welcome to the latest issue of Workforce Developments, a monthly e-mail newsletter from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

This newsletter is designed to keep Indiana policy and opinion makers and other officials up to date on activities taking place in workforce development across the state. Please forward it to others you believe might find the content useful. If you prefer not to receive this newsletter, unsubscribe information is available at the bottom of this mailing.

Southeast Indiana to receive 'Jump Start' in manufacturing training

Southeast Indiana will receive a $1.5 million infusion to train workers in the region's growing advanced manufacturing sector, Governor Mitch Daniels announced last month in Lawrenceburg.

The Department of Workforce Development's Strategic Skills Initiative has awarded the 'Jump Start' grant to the Region 9 Workforce Board, which will partner with Ivy Tech Community College campuses throughout the region to offer more training opportunities in several manufacturing areas.

"With Honda, Cummins, Jeffboat, and so many other new jobs on their way to Southeast Indiana, we have to get fully prepared," Daniels told officials gathered at the announcement at Ivy Tech's Lawrenceburg campus. "The business writers are predicting more jobs than skilled workers in this part of the state. That's a great problem to work on, and what this grant is all about."

More than 500 people will receive the advanced manufacturing training, said Andrew J. Penca, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. For more information, go here.

Bloomington Life Sciences training center moving forward

An important life sciences initiative in Southern Indiana that began as a result of a grant from the Strategic Skills Initiative is beginning to take root.

The final design of the 25,000 square foot Indiana Life Sciences Education and Training Institute has been given initial approval by the Monroe County Redevelopment Commission. The Center will be located on the Bloomington campus of Ivy Tech Community College. Groundbreaking is scheduled for May of 2007 with an opening slated for May, 2008.

Once complete, the Center will be used to train students to work in the area of life sciences, including the pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing industries. The building will include three classrooms, a 5,000 square foot manufacturing suite and four labs.

The building was developed through a partnership between the Monroe County Redevelopment Commission, the Monroe County commissioners, South Central Region 8 Workforce Board Inc., WorkOne and Ivy Tech. Through the Department of Workforce Development's Strategic Skills Initiative, the state has contributed $1.25 million to the project go here.

Work Opportunities Tax Credit program renewed

Congress late last year extended the Work Opportunities Tax Credit (WOTC) program, program through December 31, 2007.

WOTC is a federal tax credit program that offers incentive to employers who hire individuals who have consistently had difficulty in securing and retaining employment. The credit helps offset the federal tax liability of private, for-profit employers. The program is administered at the state level by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Statistics compiled by the department for the tax credit program indicate the number of certification requests jumped from 34,124 to 46,979 from program year 2004 to program year 2005. Program year 2005 ended on June 30, 2006. This translates to an additional $46 million in federal tax credits awarded Indiana employers over the previous year.

Groups targeted under the program include welfare recipients (AFDC/TANF), veterans, ex-felons, high risk youth, disabled, summer youth employees, food stamp, ssi and long term family assistance recipients. For more information on WOTC, go here.

New Indiana study chronicles plight of Indiana's working families

A new study released by the Indiana Institute for Working Families provides new information on Indiana's working families and the efforts of state policymakers to help families establish financial security.

The report reviews data on Indiana's low-income working families and provides recommendations to help prepare these families to be productive parts of Indiana's economy Among the findings:

. Only 31 percent of the Indiana population between the ages of 25 and 54 has an associate degree or better.

. Nearly one million Hoosiers lack the workforce literacy skills that are necessary to succeed in the new economy.

. Indiana's adult education services reach only 7 percent of adults in need of a high school degree.

. Only 3.2 percent of Hoosiers between the ages of 25 and 54 were enrolled in some postsecondary education program in 2006.

For the full report, go here

Hire a Hoosier Vet Job Fair

Several organizations that serve Indiana veterans are planning the first annual veterans job fair.

The Hire a Hoosier Vet Job Fair has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 25, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at AMVETS Post 99, 2840 Lafayette Road in Indianapolis. Free parking is available, and all interested veterans and employers are invited.

Among the groups involved in planning the event are the Department of Workforce Development's Veterans and Employment Services, Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs, HVAF of Indiana, Vet Center, Veterans Benefits Administration Chapter 31, and the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center Staff. For more information, call 317 988-3138.

New Web Site for South Bend's Workforce Development Group, Inc.

Workforce Development Group, Inc., which is the regional operator of WorkOne of Northern Indiana, has launched a new web site. The new site will include several blogs that will address topics such as leadership, workforce development, economic growth, education and training.

"With our new web site, we have provided a wonderful resource into both the wide boundaries and the intricate project efforts that together make-up this important economic discipline called workforce development,¡¨ said Juan Manigault, president and chief executive officer of Workforce Development Group, Inc. The web site is available at http://www.wdgusa.com/.

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