Training Effort Seeks To Enhance College Courses that Foster Qualified Workers for High-Tech Manufacturers

Northeast Indiana's high-technology employers received a boost when the Manufacturing Institute and Lumina Foundation for Education unveiled a partnership with Ivy Tech Community College and Indiana's four-year public universities to create training programs for advanced manufacturing jobs.

"We need to engage more young people and unemployed workers in learning skills that translate to high-quality jobs in our economy," said Emily DeRocco, president of the Manufacturing Institute, based in Washington D.C. "By deploying the manu- facturing skills certification system as stackable credentials in Indiana colleges, we will be offering new pathways to employ- ment and advancement in manufacturing, which is a mainstay of the state's economy," she said Aug. 30, 2010.  For a back- ground article published by WorkOne, please see "Federal-Industry Task Force Issues Training Model To Build Core Skills for Workers Fueling Advanced Manufacturing."

WITH LUMINA, INDIANA BECOMES FIFTH STATE TO ADOPT
SKILLS SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING EDUCATION
The effort seeks to establish college courses that train students with entry-level skills needed to pursue careers with advanced manufacturers in sectors such as aerospace, transportation, logistics and machining.  The Lumina Foundation for Education, based in Indianapolis, provided a $650,000 grant to support the project. Lumina's support has maneuvered Indiana to become the fifth state to receive private, independent funding to establish the Manufacturing Skills Certification System (MSCS) as a statewide standard for manufacturing education. The other states are:  North Carolina (Forsyth Technical Community College);  Ohio (Lorain County Community College);  Texas (Alamo Colleges); and
Washington (Shoreline Community College).

Ivy Tech officials expressed confidence in their adoption of MSCS as helping both individual job seekers as well as manufacturers in Northeast Indiana. "Integrating these industry skills certifications in our programs of study dramatically improves how we prepare individuals for manufacturing jobs," explained Ivy Tech President Tom Snyder. "We will enhance and accelerate our delivery of a manufacturing workforce for Indiana, equipped with advanced, Twenty-first Century skills," he added.
 
The availability of a skilled workforce "determines if and where manufacturers choose to locate," noted Steven Dwyer, president and CEO of Conexus Indiana. "Development of a credentialed talent pool in this state will help us keep and attract new manufacturing jobs to Indiana." Conexus is a nonprofit group focusing on strategic workforce development for Indiana's advanced manufacturing and logistics sectors.

Ivy Tech courses under MSCS initially will focus on the core, basic skills needed by each entry-level worker in all manufacturing sectors, including alternative energy, computers, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, and orthopedic products. The skills certifications cover the following areas:  personal effectiveness competencies (also known as "soft skills");  foundational academic competencies (or "hard" skills); general worksplace skills; and  technical skills necessary in all types of manufacturing. The program includes work in applied science, technology, engineering and math (called STEM).

The individual MSCS certifications were designed and validated by the following organizations:  ACT, Inc.;  the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council;  the American Welding Society;  the National Institute of Metalworking Skills; and  the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

  Article written by CHUCK KNEBL, webmaster & writer.  

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Northeast Indiana Counties among Highest Manufacturing Job Creators Statewide since early 1970s, Study Finds

Four of Northeast Indiana's 11 counties experienced some of the largest gains in manufacturing statewide in both jobs and number of businesses during the time period of 1973 through 2007, concluded a study from Ball State University's Center for Business and Economic Devel- opment (CBED).

Manufacturing in the Hoosier state's northeast and north-central regions expanded during the 34-year period primarily because production facilities focused on transportation equipment and fabricated metals, said the study, "Indiana's Manufacturing Employment Trends," issued Aug. 26, 2010.

The counties with the highest gains in both manufacturing jobs and number of businesses included:
Elkhart;  Kosciusko;  Dubois;  Noble;  Johnson;  Dekalb;  Lagrange; Steuben; and
Hamilton.

TECHNOLOGY AND COMPETITION
TRIM NEED FOR LARGE WORKFORCE
All manufacturing sectors have been challenged for decades by two significant factors:  advances in technology that have narrowed the need for large numbers of employees; and increases in competition. noted study author Srikant Devaraj, a senior research associate with CBED, the research unit of the university's Miller College of Business, based in Muncie, Ind.
 
 "The productivity of manufacturing workers in the United States grew by 104.76 percent from 1987 to 2009, while employment decreased by 32.5 percent during this period," Devaraj noted, "indicating that fewer workers were needed to produce the same level of output." Unless market demand "grows at roughly as the same rate as productivity, job losses within a particular industry are inevitable," he said.

Several Indiana regions endured heavy manufacturing job losses and plant closures in part due to dense concentration of facilities dedicated to machinery, electronics, computers, electrical appliances and auto components.
 
The 10 counties with the highest number of job losses included:  Lake;  Marion;  Madison;  Allen;  Van- derburgh;  Grant;  Howard; Delaware;  Saint Joseph; and  LaPorte. Moreover, some jobs were eliminated due to changes in consumer tastes as well as customers fleeing to competitors, the report noted. Across Indiana's manufacturing landscape in 2007, there were fewer large companies (with 250 or more workers) in proportion to small firms (with fewer than 50 employees). For instance, the percentage of manufacturers employing one to 19 individuals climbed to 59.1 percent in 2007 from 48.9 percent in 1973. The rise of small firms could be linked to downsizing or a hike in the number of small startup companies every year between 1973 and 2007, the study said.

"It is evident from these trends that gains in employment in one manufacturing sector did not offset the losses in other manufacturing sectors for most Indiana counties," Devaraj explained. A shift by 2007 to larger numbers of small manufacturers "has the potential to add stability to the employment base and tax base of communities," he said.

Indiana reached a summit in manufacturing in the late 1970s when factory employees topped 750,000 Hoosiers, but the number of workers plummeted to just above 550,000 in the mid-2000s.

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Indiana Places Second among States in 2010 Job Growth in the Private Sector; 55,500 Private Jobs added Statewide

Indiana secured the second-highest rate of private-sector job growth during the first half of 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Aug. 20, 2010.

Across the state, Indiana's 12 economic growth regions gained a total of 55,500 private-sector jobs during 2010, increasing private-sector employment by 2.4 percent to 2.374 million in July 2010 from 2.319 million in December '09. Northeast Indiana is Region 3 in the state's framework.

Indiana's growth rate of 2.4 percent was tied for second position with Utah and just below the District of Columbia's private-sector job growth rate of 3.2 percent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               
The jurisdictions with the top 10 private-sector job growth rates included:

 1st) District of Columbia, private employment Dec. 2009 of 456,300,
up 3.2% (14,800 jobs) to 471,100 in July 2010;



 2nd) Indiana, Dec-09 of 2.319 million, growth 2.4% (55,500) to 2.374 million
in Jul-10;
 2nd) Utah, Dec-09 of 962,700, growth 2.4% (23,300) to 986,000 in Jul-10;



 3rd) Massachusetts, Dec-09 of 2.700 million, growth 2.2% (59,500) to 2.759 million in Jul-10;
 3rd) Minnesota, Dec-09 of 2.203 million, growth 2.2% (47,600) to 2.251 million
in Jul-10;



 4th) Oklahoma, Dec-09 of 1.180 million, growth 2.1% (24,600) to 1.205 million
in Jul-10;



 5th) Delaware, Dec-09 of 347,900, growth 2.0% (7,100) to 355,000 in Jul-10;
 5th) Texas, Dec-09 of 8.379 million, growth of 2.0% (166,800) to 8.546 million
in Jul-10;



 6th) Louisiana, Dec-09 of 1.512 million, growth of 1.9% (28,100) to 1.540 million
in Jul-10;



 7th) Wyoming, Dec-09 of 208,200, growth of 1.8% (3,800) to 212,000 in Jul-10;



 8th) Washington, Dec-09 of 2.231 million, growth of 1.5% (33,200) to 2.264 million in Jul-10;
 8th) Maryland, Dec-09 of 2.004 million, growth of 1.5% (29,800) 2.034 million
in Jul-10;



 9th) Wisconsin, Dec-09 of 2.272 million, growth of 1.4% (32,700) to 2.305 million
in Jul-10;
 9th) Arkansas, Dec-09 of 936,400, growth of 1.4% (13,400) to 949,800
in Jul-10;
 9th) Iowa, Dec-09 of 1.206 million, growth of 1.4% (16,500) to 1.222 million in Jul-10;



 10th) Alaska, Dec-09 of 236,900, growth of 1.3% (3,000) to 239,900 in Jul-10;
 10th) Montana, Dec-09 of 334,000, growth of 1.3% (4,200) to 338,200 in
Jul-10; and
 10th) Nebraska, Dec-09 of 766,900, growth of 1.3% (9,600) to 776,500
in Jul-10.

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WorkOne Launches Training Fund Seeking To Retain Navistar Engineers in N.E. Region

Seeking to retain highly skilled Navistar engineers in the region, WorkOne Northeast has established $100,000 in seed money for a scholarship fund to train them for other regional jobs requiring engineering skills.

The effort comes in the wake of Navistar officials confirming plans to relocate operations by phasing out the Meyer Road Engineering and Technology Center in Fort Wayne over the next three years.  WorkOne seeks to attract some 300 Navistar design engineers to participate in training programs to prepare them for Northeast Indiana engineering positions within industries including health care, defense, education and other sectors.

"We have many engineering jobs that go unfilled in this region," said Kathleen Randolph, president and CEO of Partners for Workforce Solutions, a Fort Wayne-based nonprofit firm that administers the day-to-day operations of WorkOne Northeast.  Unfilled engineering jobs "is why our employers are telling us that they're sending work to other com- munities in the United States, because they can't fill those high-skill jobs [here]," she told Indiana's NewsCenter in an Aug. 18, 2010, article.

 Go to Indiana's NewsCenter.com
article online; or

 Go to Indiana's NewsCenter.com
article in PDF format. 

 

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Northeast Indiana's Jobless Rate Flat in July 2010 at 10.7 Percent; Recovery Remains Slow and Sluggish

Unemployment in Northeast Indiana (Region 3 composed of 11 counties) was flat during July 2010 at 10.7 percent, the same jobless rate as during the prior month. A similar jobless trend occurred in Northern Indiana (Region 2) as well as in the state's northwest economic growth area (Region 1).

In the five north-central counties that form Region 2, the jobless rate rose slightly to 12.1 percent in July 2010 from 12.0 percent during June. Moreover, throughout the seven northwest counties of Region 1, unemployment fell mildly to 10.5 percent in July from 10.7 percent in June. Collectively, one-third of Indiana's 3.16-million person workforce resides in the three northern regions (the combined labor market of regions one, two and three was 1.05 million Hoosiers in July 2010).

Likewise, Indiana's statewide jobless rate remained mostly flat by declining slightly to 10.1 percent in July 2010 from 10.2 percent during June. And the national unemployment rate rose mildly to 9.7 percent in July from 9.6 percent during the previous month.

Northeast Indiana's labor force continues to experience the stresses and pains of the global reces- sion and economic restructuring, and many more months of growth and recovery are needed for employers to create substantial numbers of new jobs. Individuals who are out-of-work should continue to talk to WorkOne's employment specialists in an effort to boost their job skills and training.

BENCHMARK JOBLESS RATES FROM JULY 2009 SHOW
PROGRESS IN RECOVERY, BUT MANY JOBS NEEDED IN N.E.
The benchmark jobless rates in Northeast Indiana and other geographical areas illuminate how far recovery efforts have progressed since the downturn's depths. For instance, Northeast Indiana had a benchmark unemployment rate of 12.0 percent in July '09 compared to 10.7 percent in July 2010. The benchmark rates in other areas included:  north-central Indiana, 13.6 percent in July '09 versus 12.1 percent in July '10;  Northwest Indiana, 10.4 percent in July '09 compared to 10.5 percent during the same month of 2010;  Indiana, 10.3 percent bench- mark in July '09 weighed against 10.1 percent during July 2010; and  the U.S. national benchmark was 9.7 percent in July '09 compared to 9.7 percent in the seventh month of 2010.

As the regional economy recovers, Northeast Indiana companies and organizations will require that new employees have up-to-date skills in areas including:
using computers;  using the Internet; using email for work activities; using word processing, presentation, calculation and other soft- ware programs; showing organizational skills; communicating with others in a workplace; working as part of a team; and other skill sets. WorkOne encourages Hoosiers to attend free seminars covering these topics as well as other important job skills.

During July 2010, Northeast Indiana's labor force stood at 370,384 individuals, with 330,637 of them employed throughout the region's 11 counties.  Thus, 39,747 Hoosier adults were jobless in the region during July.  Jobless rates for individual counties in the region were as follows:

Adams County, 9.9 percent in July 2010 compared with 9.9 percent in June '10;
Allen County, 10.4 percent in July, 10.4 percent in June;
DeKalb County, 11.2 percent in July, 10.9 percent in June;
Grant County, 12.0 percent in July, 12.0 percent in June;
Huntington County, 10.7 percent in July, 10.9 percent in June;
LaGrange County, 11.5 percent in July, 11.1 percent in June;
Noble County, 12.4 percent in July, 12.0 percent in June;
Steuben County, 11.3 percent in July, 11.4 percent in June;
Wabash County, 10.4 percent in July, 10.7 percent in June;
Wells County, 9.4 percent in July, 9.3 percent in June; and
Whitley County, 9.5 percent in July compared to 9.8 percent in June.
PLEASE NOTE:  All jobless rates in this story are not seasonally adjusted.

So is employment and economic recovery near for Northeast Indiana? While numbers are better, many problems nonetheless remain in global markets, including the annual U.S. budget deficit and a $13-trillion U.S. debt in May 2010 as well as troubling amounts of debt some European nations have accumulated in proportion to their output of goods and services (gross domestic product or GDP). For instance, governments in Greece, Spain, Ireland and Portugal, in particular, are facing severely bloated public payrolls and substantial tax evasion by citizens.

In today's Internet Age that allows instantaneous global e-commerce, what happens in Europe and elsewhere matters to Northeast Indiana's economy, which is intertwined with global markets.

Many Northeast Indiana employers seek to export goods and services to overseas markets, including Europe, so conditions in the European Union and Euro Zone do matter to the local economy. But global factors beyond e-commerce and exports also are in the mix of conditons that impact Northeast Indiana.

Psychology is important in the workings of stock and bond markets in the United States and across the global economy. Thus, if the perception and psychology of Europe's economic and debt con- ditions continues to sour, including circumstances in Britain, those factors will affect Northeast Indiana via the ripple effects of the global economy.

The regional economy in Northeast Indiana operates within the U.S. and global marketplaces, although substantial gains in regional employment will lag behind overall improvements in the national and global economic landscapes. For instance, banks across the United States gradually increased their lending to small and medium-sized businesses during 2009, so credit markets moved onto a road to functioning in a predictable manner.

Yet when the economy rapidly fell into turmoil and credit makets froze during late 2008, some North- east Indiana firms were forced to close permanently in part because they were unable to secure short-term loans to fund their payrolls. And other employers took a route of significantly reducing their workforces.

So as national and global economic conditions brighten, lost jobs in Northeast Indiana won't be revived right away. New hiring across the region will occur as companies secure higher demand for their goods and services. Moreover, a process featuring increased hiring spurred by growth in de- mand — both individually for employers and collectively for the region — will happen on an incre- mental basis over months.

In another factor encouraging recovery, some employers in Northeast Indiana have maximized, for the most part, their cost-cutting efforts, meaning that if they seek growth during the near term they will have to add workers.

The deep recession that has plagued Northeast Indiana, and elsewhere, struck with such force in part because numerous negative factors occurred at the same time in lots of places in the United States and around the globe.

 

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Over Four Days, Hoosiers File 220,000 Jobless Vouchers Totaling $54 Million in Benefits under Federal Extensions

Under recently enacted federal unemployment extensions, jobless Indiana residents filed some 220,000 unemployment vouchers totaling $54 million in benefits between Wednesday, July 28, 2010, and Monday, Aug. 2, said the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD).

More than 150,000 vouchers were filed online via Indiana's online filing system, called Uplink, during a single day, Sunday, Aug. 1. Overall, DWD expects to make another 30,000 vouchers available to Hoosiers under the federal unemployment extension program. Among those 30,000 vouchers not yet filed by Aug. 2, those vouchers may belong to Hoosiers who:

normally file during the week;
will not file because he or she obtained employment;
are moving between tiers of benefits, resulting in the rest of their vouchers appearing after their first set of vouchers are processed, or
are entering the extended benefits (EB) program, which requires individuals to apply in person at their local WorkOne before the vouchers become available.

DWD served more than 1,500 Hoosiers on Saturday, July 31, during expanded hours at its call center and 27 full-service WorkOne centers statewide, including in Fort Wayne, Auburn and Marion. These facilities will remain open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from Monday, Aug. 2 through Friday, Aug. 6.

Under a tiered jobless-benefit system, Hoosiers entering the Extended Benefits (EB) program for the first time will not have vouchers available on Aug. 3. The vouchers will be available for only individuals resuming their collection of extended benefits; the EB program lapsed in mid-June until Congress reauthorized the program in mid-July. DWD will post vouchers on the Uplink hompages of Hoosiers previously enrolled in EB; the vouchers will encompass the benefits they had remaining when the program ended on June 12, DWD said July 26.

Thus, for Hoosiers moving into the EB program for the first time, federal mandates require that each individual apply in-person at a local WorkOne Center and bring his or her eligibility letter from DWD. All full-service WorkOne Centers around the state, including Ft. Wayne, Auburn and Marion, will be open from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. from Aug. 3 through Aug. 6 to handle an expected increase in claims. WorkOne Express offices, such as those in Decatur, Huntington, LaGrange, Kendallville, Angola, Wabash, Bluffton and Columbia City, will maintain normal business hours.

Finally, Hoosiers eligible for retroactive benefits should visit their homepage on Indiana's Uplink system prior to July 31 to make sure they don't have any pending applications or links seeking information. In some cases, this information will be required for vouchers to appear by Aug. 3.

Go to DWD PRESS RELEASE

Go to DWD FAQ FACT SHEET

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Questa Foundation's College Debt-Forgiveness Effort Seeks To Boost High-Skilled Workforce in Region

Thousands of high-paying jobs in advanced manufacturing and engineering likely will open by 2020 in Northeast Indiana, and regional organi- zations are acting now to help prepare young Hoosiers to thrive in these jobs.

The Questa Foundation for Education is imple- menting a $500,000 program over five years to help regional college students pay for higher education if they agree to reside and work in Northeast Indiana after graduation.  Under the innovative program, students can borrow up to $20,000 over four years and receive incentives valued at up to 50 percent in debt forgiveness if they maintain academic requirements and commit to living and working in the 11-county
region for five years after graduation.

OFFICIALS SEEK TO FILL TALENT PIPELINE SO THAT
NEW GENERATION OF HIGH-TECH WORKERS CAN STEP-UP
With upcoming retirements of current workers, thousands of high-skill jobs are expected to open at Northeast Indiana employers engaged in the advanced manufacturing, defense and aerospace sectors.  "We want to make sure we've got the talent pipeline to fill those jobs when they become available," Leonard Helfrich, grant director for the Talent Initiative, said July 22, 2010.  "The de- fense, aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries provide high-paying, high-quality jobs; those are the exact jobs we want to encourage to remain in our area," he added.  The Talent Initiative is a Northeast Indiana program aiming to boost educational and training achievements of the regional workforce.

Among students who grew-up in Northeast Indiana but left the region for college, less than 35 percent returned to the region to live and work, explained Questa Foundation Executive Director Christina Smith.  "We want to provide some added incentives for these engineering students to consider study in our region," she said, "because we think that's going to help with grad retention."

The debt-forgiveness program marks the first time the Questa Foundation has earmarked funds for a specific field of study.  "The reason we picked defense, aerospace and advanced manufacturing is because there's a great need," Smith said.

Beyond the $500,000 debt-forgiveness pledge, Questa plans to earmark six loan awards for students who seek an advanced manufacturing degree at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast.  Moreover, Questa intends to direct 10 percent of its annual loan awards for students enrolled in engineering at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), Indiana Tech and Trine University; for their part, each of the three institutions has committed to paying an additional 25 percent for individuals in the debt-forgive- ness effort.  Some students, therefore, could have 75 percent forgiven from their overall college loans.

"If a student borrows twenty-thousand dollars for a four-year degree in engineering, we forgive fifty percent of it, and the university pays back another twenty-five percent.  That student walks away with a bachelor's degee and only five-thousand dollars of debt.  That's a deal," said Smith.

In addition, officials hope the program will help reverse a disheartening trend that has emerged in Northeast Indiana:  per capita income for the region has been dropping in recent years.  "It's partly because there have been a number of moves of corporate centers.  It's no fault of anyone," said Helfrich, "but [the corporation] takes higher paying jobs with it when it leaves town.  If you don't maintain your talent pipeline over the course of a decade or two, the corporation may just leave behind the lower paying jobs."

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