HUMAN CAPITAL OVERVIEW
THE CHALLENGE: Preparing our workforce
Indiana may be "The Crossroads of America," but without a skilled workforce it will be difficult to maintain and expand the state's advanced manufacturing and logistics leadership position.
The retirement of the Baby Boomer generation will create thousands of job openings in these industries in coming years, while growth in cutting-edge areas like alternative energy, green vehicles, nanotechnology and aerospace will continue to create new career opportunities. But these positions demand high-tech skills: A recent study by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) shows that 80 percent of manufacturers cite "finding qualified workers" as a top concern.
While a high school diploma isn't enough preparation for these high-tech jobs, success doesn't hinge solely on a four-year bachelor's degree, either. Nationally, this phenomenon was featured on NBC Nightly News, which focused on advanced manufacturing's need for an "up-skilled" workforce. Half of all U.S. jobs today are considered "middle-skill," and one of every two new jobs will fall into this category over the next five years. In Indiana alone, middle-skill jobs dominate Indiana's job mix today and will continue to do so.
THE SOLUTION
Conexus Indiana and its regional partners, EcO15, WorkOne Southwest, and Partners for Workforce Solutions have come together to create and promote three initiatives that will help Indiana's workforce up skill to meet today's workforce needs.
Skills Template: Hoosier students need to have access to the right advanced manufacturing and logistics education. To make sure Indiana secondary and post-secondary programs are hitting the mark, Conexus Indiana assembled industry teams to determine the skills required for successful middle level advanced manufacturing and logistics workers. The resulting "skills template" provides high school and post-secondary educators with a blueprint for career success.
Dream It. Do It. Indiana: It's a fairly safe bet that most young Hoosiers don't have a good understanding of what goes on in modern manufacturing and logistics companies. To help students better understand these industries and the careers available in them, in Central Indiana, Northeast Indiana, and Southeast Indiana, Conexus and its regional partners have recruited high school educators to serve as "Champions." Champions work within high schools to raise student awareness through field trips, career fairs, presentations, etc., and help students understand where they can get the post-secondary education industry demands.
The Dream It. Do It. program in Southwest Indiana takes a slightly different tack. Educators in this part of the state take part in traveling workshops that focus on local companies, while students participate in advanced manufacturing and logistics camps-more than 1600 students since December!
DreamItDoItIndiana.com: To capture the interest of Indiana's youngest workforce members, Conexus Indiana and its partners have launched DreamItDoItIndiana.com, a state-wide one-stop electronic resource for information about advanced manufacturing and logistics careers, including local companies, the hottest 11 job types, and educational and extracurricular opportunities.
There's a bright future for those with the desire, skill and education to enter and grow in these fields, and Conexus Indiana is working to build connections between education and industry that will ensure Indiana's economic future is just as bright.
Did you know?
While the combined share of total manufacturing employment in the U.S. held steady from 1983 to 2002 at roughly 30 percent, their share of the nation's high-skill jobs rose from 39 percent to 47 percent.
Three of every four manufacturing job openings over the next few years will come through retirement or attrition, with the average age of the Hoosier manufacturing workforce hovering above 50.
Indiana currently ranks 35th in the number of adults holding an associate's degree, the group most likely to succeed in advanced manufacturing and logistics jobs.
Indiana ranks 29th in percentage of workforce with a high school diploma and 42nd in college educated workers.
It would take 17 years worth of high school graduates to make up for the projected retirements in the next 5 to 7 years.
