Indiana a national leader in adult education
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 20, 2018) --Having a high school
credential is the key for many to land higher-paying jobs and advancement
opportunities throughout their careers. Indiana’s Adult Education program,
which helps Hoosiers earn a high school equivalency, is one of the leading
programs in the nation for helping people achieve that status.
Indiana’s Adult Education
program annually ranks among the tops in the nation, in terms of how many
Hoosiers it helps earn a high school equivalency.
Nearly half a million working-age Hoosiers lack a high school diploma or
equivalency.
In fiscal year 2016-17, for which the most recent statistics are available,
nearly 5,000 participants completed the equivalency requirements, placing Indiana
third behind only California and Florida.
And 58 percent of those adult education participants either completed their
high school equivalency or achieved a two-grade increase in their functioning
level, placing Indiana fourth nationally in that success rate. By comparison, the
national average is about 48 percent.
Indiana’s Adult Education program is administered by the Department of
Workforce Development and has a presence in each of the state’s 92 counties.
“I think that says a lot, the contribution that our programs are making,
particularly because of the governor’s push,” said Jerry Haffner, DWD’s
Assistant Director of Adult Education Policy & Programs.
About 85,000 jobs currently
are waiting to be filled in Indiana, and that number is expected to grow over
the next decade. The challenge: to skill up that population without a high
school credential, by putting them on a path toward a high school equivalency
and industry certification.
Despite the recent
emphasis on adult education, programs have been offered in Indiana since the
1940s. They received a lift in 1964, when federal and state funding became
available to help high-school dropouts earn their General Equivalency Diploma.
In 2014, Indiana switched from the traditional GED to the High School Equivalency,
or HSE.
Today, 32 entities provide adult education programs at more than 250 locations
stretching throughout the state. Many of
the programs are administered through public school corporations, higher
education institutions such as Marian and Vincennes universities, and
not-for-profits such as Indy Reads. Overall, they annually enroll between
27,000 and 30,000 participants.
The largest segment of
Indiana’s population participating in high school equivalency classes is the
25-to-44 age group, Haffner said.
“Those folks have been out of school and have worked one or multiple jobs,” he
said. “They’re coming back because they really need a better job, and a better
opportunity.
Though high school equivalency and certification classes are a big part of
Indiana’s Adult Education program, an increasing number of adult education
participants (20 percent) are seeking to learn the English language.
Most of that population is already working, and the employer is seeking DWD’s assistance
to improve communication with their workforce, said Marilyn Pitzulo, Indiana’s
Director of Adult Education.
“We’re seeing this more and more,” she said. “They have a population of, for
example, Burmese, and they want us to come and set up a class on site at their
location and help teach their employees English.”
Offering
adult education classes at the actual workplace is becoming more common, at a
time when the state’s low unemployment rate of 3.4 percent is making it harder
for employers to find good workers and retain them. So employers are partnering
or supporting the courses, to incentivize employees to get their high school
equivalency by making it more convenient.
As part of this push, the General Assembly last session stipulated that DWD
must spend 25 percent of its funding on employer-based services.
Among the early adopters is Cook Group, a leading medical-device maker in
Bloomington. At its manufacturing plant, the company hires those without a
diploma or equivalent and starts them in a janitorial or dietary position. They
work 28 hours per week and spend the remaining 12 hours, unpaid, in a classroom
adjacent to the manufacturing plant.
Once they earn their high school equivalency, they’re placed in higher-paying,
production-line jobs. Overall, those with a high school credential can increase
their earnings 100 percent over a lifetime compared with those without one.
“There’s that carrot at the end,” Pitzulo said. “It’s a lot more money, and
it’s a full-time position, so they’re motivated to get through the program,
because there’s something waiting for them, and it’s not that far down the
road.”
National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week runs Sept. 23-29.
###
About the Indiana Department of
Workforce Development
DWD
serves the worker and the employer to ensure workplace success. DWD is
committed to innovating and invigorating Indiana’s economic future by providing
WorkOne Career Centers, Unemployment Insurance, Labor Market Information,
Regional Workforce Strategies and Professional Training. Through these
services, DWD is able to develop a premier workforce that enables Indiana
employers to flourish and entices businesses from outside our state to relocate
to Indiana.
|
