Developing new employees and the existing workforce.
by Shari Held
Chuck Knebl, communications manager for WorkOne in South Bend (Region 2), says economic conditions have improved substantially across Indiana's Northern Tier–composed of 23 counties across three regions. For instance, the jobless rate is coming down and employment grew in several sectors during 2013.
“Indiana's Northern Tier serves as a noteworthy compass of the labor market's ripples and currents,” Knebl says. “Its 1.05 million workers compose nearly one-third of Indiana's total workforce.
But it's still a mixed bag.
“While the Great Recession of 2010 has ended, global economic restructuring spurred by Information-Age efficiencies continues,” Knebl says. “This economic restructuring ripples through entire organizations to change the duties of individual positions.”
It all boils down to a workforce and workplace that are in transition, and trying to figure out how to reach that perfect balance between talent pool and open jobs, or at least come close.
And while there are plenty of bumps in the road ahead to navigate–applicants who can't pass drug tests, applicants who lack the necessary skills or applicants who don't have the desired degree of experience–Northwest Indiana appears to be holding its own when it comes to workforce development.
“One thing I can say about our workforce is that when Indiana entertains prospective firms interested in locating in Indiana, the availability of workforce and the qualifications of the workforce are not big concerns,” says Craig Lamb, executive director Corporate College for Ivy Tech Community College – Lafayette. “Overall, Indiana's workforce has been able to rise to the occasion.”
Retooling the incumbent workforce
“When we talk about prepping for what's coming, it's not just about prepping the students,” says Robyn Minton, vice president workforce initiatives, Center of Workforce Innovations in Valparaiso. “It's also about making sure workers in existing jobs don't get outmoded and that we are all lifetime learners. We all need to look ahead to see what's around the bend and what skill sets we need to add to our resume to keep competitive as workers.”
Lamb takes it a step further. “The emerging workforce is indeed part of the process for solving the problem, but the existing workforce, the incumbent workforce, is more critical,” Lamb says. “Partly because of sheer numbers. Eighty-five percent of the people who will be in the workforce in 2030 are already in the workforce today.”
Several years ago the Center of Workforce Innovations conducted a survey with more than 100 area employers. It found that employers value success skills such as being a team player, communicating effectively and making a solid contribution to the business. They also indicated that advanced skills (beyond a high school diploma) would be essential for success in the workforce.
That's still true.
“Employers are looking for technical certifications specific to a particular occupation,” Minton says. “It's so important for people to look at the high-demand jobs available, determine what their affinity is for those high-demand jobs and the level of education needed for them.”
The CWI recently worked with five employers in Jasper and Newton counties who couldn't find qualified applicants to fill maintenance technology jobs. To remedy the situation, it partnered with Ivy Tech Community College – Lafayette to provide certified production technician training to nine people. While Ivy Tech provided the technical training, the CWI complemented the curriculum by teaching participants the soft skills they would need to get employed.
“And those folks are all getting employed,” Minton says. “We are so thrilled. We are in the process of replicating this program in Portage on a much larger scale.”
WorkOne also trains people in the skills they need to apply for jobs and get back into the workforce. It offers in-person workshops on a variety of topics, including using computers, navigating the Internet, networking and learning specific software programs such as Word, Excel and Publisher. It also helps people reevaluate and identify the skills they do have. “Sometimes it is helpful if another person looks at their resume and lets them know what skills they've developed over a number of years that would be valuable to employers today,” Knebl says.
Putting the emphasis back on manufacturing
In some area counties, manufacturing jobs can account for up to one-third of all wages earned. “In many communities, especially in Indiana, manufacturing is the key driver,” Lamb says. “There's no industry in Indiana that's creating more of what we call ‘quality jobs' at a faster rate or in larger numbers than manufacturing.”
But manufacturing jobs have changed, requiring workers to learn new skill sets. “Just because they don't currently have those skills doesn't mean they can't learn them–and learn them quickly,” Lamb says.
For instance, the production technician certification program can be completed in eight weeks, or roughly 140 hours. The short-term training program certifies participants in four areas: safety, quality systems, manufacturing processes and maintenance awareness. Indiana employers identified these four areas as being universal to all types of manufacturing. The training and certification program were built around those needs. Graduates of the program earn national certification through the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council.
Counties and communities, such as Jasper, Newton or Portage, can sponsor training for their workforce that will enable participants to transition to these jobs. “This certification indicates they have a high level of knowledge in those four areas,” Lamb says. “What they don't possess, in many cases, is manufacturing experience, but employers will provide that.”
This program, called Advancing Manufacturing, first debuted in Lafayette in February 2012. Since then more than 200 people in Lafayette alone have earned their certification. The program has been replicated in other areas with great success. Qualified applicants receive scholarships, so attendance is free, but they have to pass a series of tests and a drug screening to ensure they are job-ready before being admitted to the program.
Partnership with businesses is a key component to the success of the program. Their participation helps promote the program and gives graduates access to jobs. An interview fair with graduate classes provides partner businesses the opportunity to hire right out of the group.
“We are helping communities build self-sustaining training programs that involve education, government and employers to fund and promote the idea of training workers to go into manufacturing specifically,” Lamb says. “Essentially we are building that pathway between where the workforce is today and where the employers want them to be so that everybody can succeed.”
Building the workforce of the future
The Regional Education/Employer Alliance for Developing Youth (READY) Northwest Indiana, under the umbrella of the Center of Workforce Innovations, focuses on increasing the overall education rates of the region, whether that means four-year degrees, associate degrees or industry or IT certifications. Another goal is to emphasize math skills.
“We want students to be able to enter college without needing remediation,” says Roy Vanderford, manager, READY Northwest Indiana. “That is very much tied to the cost of attending college, so we are attacking that, too.”
The coalition consists of four workgroups–K-12, with a core membership of 15 school corporations; higher education, with representatives from eight colleges in the region (Ivy Tech Community College, Purdue University Calumet, Purdue University North Central, Indiana University Northwest, St. Joseph College, Ancilla College, Calumet College and Valparaiso University); technical education centers; and employers.
“We have about two-thirds of the potential workforce involved in the READY effort right now,” Vanderford says. “We start with students as they are transitioning from middle school to high school because at that point they are making critical decisions about their class schedules.”
Again, businesses are instrumental to the effort, with employers giving classroom presentations about their workplaces. Videos are used to showcase newly graduated students employed at area businesses who talk about what it's like to work there.
The focus isn't just on academics. Employers are also interested in soft skills or social skills. “Those turn out to be the same skills you need to have to be prepared for college,” Vanderford says.
Assisting college graduates
The issues for students obtaining four-year degrees and beyond are slightly different. Non-traditional students, especially those who have been out of school for 10 to 15 years, are often not college-ready when they apply. New high school graduates often lack interpersonal skills, math skills, writing skills and critical reading skills, making it necessary for them to first enroll in remedial classes.
And a four-year degree or graduate degree is no guarantee they'll find the kind of job they want. Many college graduates are underemployed in today's economy.
“College graduates have the skills, it's a lack of real-world experience they're suffering from,” Gibson says. “They're having a hard time finding jobs.”
The School of Business & Economics at IU Northwest is doing several things to help students become job-ready. Freshmen typically take “Career Perspectives,” an introduction to various careers available to business majors and the skills needed for success in each one. The junior or senior year, they take “Business Career Planning & Placement,” which teaches them how to apply for jobs and includes a class focusing on the 16 Personal Factors Questionnaire, which helps them understand the type of manager they might be, and the Hogan Development Survey, which points out aptitudes that could potentially derail their careers.
One huge benefit IU Northwest's School of Business & Economics offers is that each student receives one-on-one executive coaching based on his or her results from those tests.
“We're training managers and business owners for the business world,” says John Gibson, director of graduate and undergraduate programs, School of Business & Economics, IU Northwest. “This is something unique that we do because we want them to be as self-aware as possible.”
Focusing on leadership at all ages
“The skill that is probably the most important and is increasingly in short supply is engaged leadership,” says Leigh Morris, interim president and CEO of Legacy Foundation, a community foundation serving Lake County. “Young people are more than willing to become involved and engaged, but it has to be meaningful to them. They simply don't work through the traditional pipelines, such as the clubs that were productive in the past. We have to find different approaches.”
Emerge South Shore (ESS), a program associated with the Legacy Foundation, provides young professionals with opportunities to gain hands-on experience with specific organizations. The goal is to make their communities and the region a better place to live, while honing their leadership skills and giving them a personal sense of fulfillment.
For example, the Foundation's Think Tank might provide the strategy for a not-for-profit organization while an ESS member would work with that organization on an ongoing basis to help it implement the strategy.
Other organizations in the region focus on developing leaders. Leadership Northwest Indiana, a South Shore Leadership Center (SSLC) program, acquaints upcoming leaders with the issues confronting Northwest Indiana while stressing the region's assets. The goal is to engage them so they'll stay in the area and become active participants.
SLYCE, a SSLC program geared toward freshman, sophomore and junior high school students in Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, Newton, Pulaski and Starke counties, introduces students to community issues and focuses on team-building and servant-leadership skills.
“There are some very significant leadership training initiatives underway in Northwest Indiana to develop the leaders of tomorrow,” Morris says.
