Workforce Developments :: April 2008
In this issue..
- New Crane center
- WIRED goes green
- Major Opportunities
- IPIC recognized
- Northwest Indiana workforce report
- WorkKeys conference coming to Indy
- Legislature to study adult education
New center at Crane to provide training, employment opportunities to Hoosier disabled veterans
A new program designed to provide employment, workforce training and education to Hoosier veterans with disabilities was formally rolled out last month. Representatives from several state and federal organizations met in Southwest Indiana to formalize the Crane Learning & Employment Center for Veterans with Disabilities (CLEC).
CLEC is the first comprehensive program of its kind in the U.S. to help veterans with disabilities re-enter the workforce. The project commenced as an 18-month pilot project in the fall of 2007. The CLEC administrative staff is co-located with EG&G Technical Services Inc, in their facility in the WestGate @ Crane Technology Park.
Participating veterans receive paid, on-the-job training and customized post-secondary education. Upon successful completion, each veteran will be offered a permanent job at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Crane in southwest Indiana, which will house the program.
Crane Technology, Inc. (CTI) manages the center. Fifteen to 20 initial participants will take part in the pilot program, which received financial support from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
According to CLEC Program Director Jim Schonberger, “Too many disabled veterans fall through the cracks in our country’s training systems and are forced to navigate the bureaucracy for the most part on their own. The pilot program focuses on returning veterans from the current conflict and will help ease them back into civilian society through workforce training and job placement.”
“We must be successful in removing any and all obstacles that our returning veterans face, and efficiently and effectively provide these veterans with the education and support programs they need to be successful in the work place,” said Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Teresa L. Voors.
The center will facilitate access to comprehensive services including medical care, housing, transportation, workforce education, supported living, and supported employment.
WIRED Indiana offers Green Manufacturing Certificate
Indiana’s WIRED initiative is now offering a new Green Manufacturing Certificate Program. Located in 14 counties in North Central Indiana, WIRED is funded by the United States Department of Labor.
The Green Manufacturing Certificate program will educate workers in the principles of clean manufacturing, energy conservation, and waste reduction. Hourly and salaried workers who go through the training will receive certificates of completion.
The first training will take place May 12-16 in West Lafayette, with another planned for Kokomo in June.
For more information or to enroll workers in the green manufacturing training program, contact Christy Bozic at (765) 491-2200 or by e-mail at cbozic@purdue.edu.
Indiana WIRED is an economic and workforce development initiative administered by Purdue University. The 14 counties include Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Montgomery, Miami, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, Warren and White.
WIRED, which stands for Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, is a federal initiative designed to energize the nation's economy through regional economic development partnerships and work-force education and training. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded $15 million each to 13 regions in the United States. Indiana’s grant to the North Central Indiana project passed through the office of Governor Mitch Daniels and the the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
ABC Holds Major Opportunities Graduation and Interview Fair
Forty-nine individuals recently graduated from a Major Opportunities training program operated by the Associated Builders and Contractors.
The program provides 100 hours of classroom training of pre-apprenticeship and on-the-job training to Indiana minority residents seeking a career in the building and construction industry.
The program was established by the Indiana General Assembly in 2006, as part of Governor Daniels Major Moves highway infrastructure building program. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development helps fund the program. In addition to ABC, several other training providers operate the program in five Indiana cities: Indianapolis, Gary, South Bend, Fort Wayne and Evansville.
To find out more about the Major Opportunities program, go to http://www.in.gov/dwd/dosomethingmajor/.
IPIC Honored by NAWB
The Indianapolis Private Industry Council (IPIC) was recently honored by the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) for various initiatives that advance innovative partnerships with their business communities. The award cited IPIC for their Life Sciences Connections, a three-pronged approach combining traditional training, capacity building of higher education, and establishing pipeline projects. Since its inception four years ago IPIC has partnered with 13 regional hospitals to train more than 400 employed workers in high-growth and high-demand life sciences professions. It responded to a crippling nursing shortage by convening industry and education leaders to develop short and long-term solutions.
A partnership with Ivy Tech Community College established a night and weekend Associate in Nursing degree track, which expanded local capacity by 30 students a year and developed an accelerated master’s degree in nursing education with Indiana University.
The program has resulted in 12 distinct projects which have attracted $3.5 million business and foundation investment to fill the life sciences pipeline, build educational capacity and provide training grants to attract new businesses.
NAWB is the leading workforce association that represents the nation's nearly 650 business-led Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) and also serves other associated organizations in the workforce industry with one common goal: Helping America Work. NAWB is guided by a 21-member Board of Directors, composed primarily of Workforce Board chairs and past chairs that oversee job training at the local level. Founded in 1979, NAWB membership consists of local workforce investment boards and governor-appointed state workforce investment boards nationwide representing approximately 15,000 volunteers from business and other sectors.
New ‘State of the Workforce’ Report released for Northwest Indiana
Economic projections for Northwest Indiana indicate that the regional supply of labor should tighten over the coming decade as the number of residents of workforce age is expected to drop by nearly 20,000, according to the state of the workforce report, released recently by the Northwest Indiana Workforce Board and the Center of Workforce Innovations.
The report noted that area manufacturers and employers of all types will face the countervailing pressures of increasing production to meet improved demand for American goods but limited access to new labor. The region will face a reduction of available workers and an experience drain, as baby boomer workers retire from the workforce. Other highlights of the report:
- Northwest Indiana added jobs in both 2005 and 2006, rebounding from the recession in the earlier part of the decade.
- Manufacturing is no longer the largest-employing sector of the Northwest Indiana economy, having been supplanted by retail trade, followed by government and health care
- Manufacturers, including the steel mills, have added workers by small amounts in 2004, 2005, and 2006, a major reversal in historic trends stretching back three decades.The regional unemployment rate has dropped to levels below the national rate at times in 2007 and is nearly on par with the rest of the State of Indiana.
Workkeys National Conference set for Indy
Indianapolis will be the site of the 11th Annual WorkKeys National Conference.
The conference will be held from April 29 through May 2 at the downtown Indianapolis Marriott. For the first time, participants can receive HRCI credits by participating in the one-hour session "Hiring Tips and Tools for the New Millennium."
WorkKeys is a job skills assessment system measuring real-world skills, which connects work skills, training, and testing for education and employers. The assessment system also makes it easier to meet the requirements of federal programs and legislation, supports economic and workforce development programs and is the basis for the National Career Readiness Certificate.
To find out more, access the conference agenda here.
Legislature to study adult education, adult education funding
Among legislation signed into law by Governor Daniels was a bill establishing an interim study committee on adult education. The committee, which will meet throughout the remainder of 2008, will study issues that relate to adult education, including funding for adult education programs.
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