New Plan to Transform Indiana’s Workforce

The Indiana Career Council (ICC), made up of government, education, and industry leaders, has been tasked with creating a strategic plan to transform Indiana’s workforce. Align, Engage, Advance: A Strategic Plan to Transform Indiana’s Workforce identifies ways for agencies and partner organizations to collaborate to share information, align missions, and integrate resources to ensure students and workers improve their education and skills.

The report is timely considering the following:

• According to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce Workforce Study, nearly 40% of well-paying jobs still need to be fulfilled due to a lack of qualified applicants.
• By 2020, 58% of Hoosier jobs will require a career certificate or college degree.
• Only 38% of working-age adults (25-64 years old) hold a two- or four-year college degree, according to 2011 Census data.
• According to Complete College America, more Hoosiers must enroll in post-secondary education and make it through with a degree.

ICC’s Strategic Plan has 5 main objectives, with some strategies highlighted below:

1. Provide a seamless system of partners that provides worker-centric and student-centric services.
   1. Measure success with the same performance metrics.
2. Link career pathways to Indiana high-wage, high-demand careers across the K-12 post-secondary and adult systems for students and workers.
   1. Make career counseling a priority.
3. Increase the number of students and adults who attain post-secondary skill certifications and degrees.
   1. Standardize national industry credentialing and basic college course credits.
4. Elevate the importance of work-and-learn models.
   1. Incentivize employers to create more of these opportunities.
5. Adopt a data-driven, sector-based approach that directly aligns education and training with the needs of Indiana’s regional economies.
   1. Link public education and career investments to priority industries.

Transform Consulting Group has developed a college and career readiness toolkit, LAUNCH, for organizations seeking to improve Hoosier high school graduation and post-secondary enrollment and completion rates. At Transform Consulting Group, we understand that an educated workforce creates a strong economy. Contact us today to learn more about LAUNCH.