The City of Gary is seeking a project manager and career advisors for its Think B.I.G. blight elimination project.

Blight has been a challenge for Gary for decades. The city and the Center of Workforce Innovations are collaborating to address the issue. In partnership with Ivy Tech Community College and Goodwill, they aim to use workforce development to transform the community. 

Called Think B.I.G. (Beauty in Gary), the project is the brainchild of Gary Mayor Eddie Melton. The project was conceived as a volunteer program led by community activist Markael Watkins. The program has evolved into an opportunity to bring more than 100 jobs to Gary, targeting the area’s unemployed and underemployed residents. 

“The goal — and I want to make sure I’m clear — is not just about eliminating blight,” Melton said in a press release. “It’s creating community, giving people an option to have a safer environment, it’s about improving.”

Modeled after a program in Detroit, the training program is the cornerstone of a talent development strategy. It is designed to equip participants with foundational skills for immediate employment and future career growth. To get the program started, recruitment is underway to hire a project manager and career advisors. 

“The real focus and real investment that we are proposing is eliminating skill gaps and investing in Gary residents,” Bryann Gibson, CWI’s senior outreach and WorkOne system liaison, said. “This is a foundation for larger future municipal growth.”