Governor's Workforce Cabinet Releases Indiana's Strategic Workforce Plan

MEDIA CONTACT:
Sam Rourke at (317) 430-4233 or SRourke@gov.IN.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, March 19, 2020

Governor’s Workforce Cabinet Releases Indiana’s Strategic Workforce Plan

(INDIANAPOLIS) — The Governor’s Workforce Cabinet has released Indiana’s Strategic Workforce Plan, A Better Future for Every Hoosier, following a unanimous approval vote at today’s Cabinet meeting. The Plan focuses on ensuring all Hoosiers have equitable opportunities for lifelong learning, increasing personal economic mobility and providing employers the talent to grow and diversify their workforce.

A Better Future for Every Hoosier is Indiana’s first coordinated Strategic Plan for a talent development system aligning early learning, K-12 education, postsecondary education and workforce training. It will be submitted as Indiana’s federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) plan by April 1, and the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet built it to serve as Indiana’s guiding document for action over the next five years.

Click here to view a snapshot of A Better Future for Every Hoosier.

“A Better Future for Every Hoosier represents a collaborative effort among business leaders, lawmakers, state agencies and educators, as well as nonprofit and private partners, to better serve all Hoosiers and provide equitable opportunities for education and training, employment and ultimately upward economic mobility,” said Governor’s Workforce Cabinet Executive Director P.J. McGrew. “We are committed to continuing work with all stakeholders to implement this Plan and see positive outcomes for all Hoosiers as a result.”

The Plan prioritizes shifting the conversation around talent development from programs to people through a unique, innovative approach that centers the needs of identified target populations. Target populations included in the Plan represent groups of Hoosiers who have been identified as needing additional supports from the workforce and social services systems. This human-centered approach allows for the Plan’s strategies to be specific to the needs of each selected target population.

Strategies for Success

Five comprehensive strategies are embedded throughout the plan to improve an individual’s experience interacting with the talent development system and ensure Indiana is maximizing the impact of state and federal investments:

• Data sharing – Improving data sharing will allow for better understanding of who the state serves, where they are being served and how the state serves them.
• Co-enrollment – This strategy will ensure all Hoosiers are served holistically with a data-informed package of services that work together to meet their unique needs.
• Co-location – The plan identifies a number of different ways for entities to improve customer service by strategically locating staff in ways that break down barriers for individuals when they access state services.
• Cross-training – To effectively implement other strategies, the plan recognizes the importance of increasing state, local and front-line staff knowledge of programs and resources across Indiana’s talent development system to better serve Hoosiers.
• Employer engagement – The plan calls for sharing information with Hoosier businesses about the benefits of Indiana’s talent development system and encouraging them to engage with key populations.

Numerous other targeted strategies are included in the Plan to assist individuals, employers, state agencies and other stakeholders who interact with the talent development system as a user or provider of services.   

Measuring Progress

A critical component of A Better Future for Every Hoosier is measuring the state’s progress across the talent development system. The Plan indicates a number of different metrics that the Cabinet will be tracking with assistance from other state agencies. The metrics are organized around four themes:

1. Economic Impact
2. Employment Metrics
3. Educational Attainment
4. Student Engagement and Career Preparation

A Better Future for Every Hoosier will now be submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor and US Department of Education in advance of the April 1 submission deadline and can begin to be implemented once federal approval is received.

To view the full Strategic Workforce Plan, click here, or to view an Executive Summary, click here.  

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About the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet:

The Governor’s Workforce Cabinet (GWC) was formed in 2018 with the mission of addressing current and future education and employment needs for individuals and employers, strengthening Indiana’s economy by integrating and aligning state and federal resources, and ensuring a talent-driven education and workforce system. The membership of the GWC includes the business community, K-12 representatives, postsecondary institutions, Indiana lawmakers, and leaders from Indiana state agencies. 

What people are saying about Indiana’s agenda for

talent development, A Better Future for Every Hoosier

 

Cabinet Members

Cabinet Chair and Indiana Commission for Higher Education Commissioner Teresa Lubbers

“Evident in this Strategic Workforce Plan is the clear focus of the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, which is helping to improve the lives of Hoosiers. I believe this is the right plan for the state of Indiana and it will continue to guide the Cabinet’s work of ensuring a better future for every Hoosier.”

Indiana Secretary of Career Connections and Talent Blair Milo

“Ensuring a better future for every Hoosier is top priority, and Indiana’s Strategic Workforce Plan lays out how the Indiana team will work together to do just that. The Plan’s strategies to lift up our state’s most vulnerable populations and increase equitable lifelong learning opportunities will grow personal economic mobility and provide employers with a skilled and diverse talent pipeline. Continuing to leverage data, break down barriers, and integrate state systems will help us to better serve Hoosiers and reach key goals like having 60 percent of the population with a quality postsecondary credential by 2025.”

Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Fred Payne

“The Indiana Department of Workforce Development fully supports the Cabinet’s efforts to align all levels of education with workforce training. A Better Future for Every Hoosier will serve as Indiana’s guiding document for action over the next five years, and we look forward to our continued collaboration with the Cabinet to ensure this coordinated Strategic Plan is successful in developing Indiana talent.”

Custom Concrete Senior Vice President Jason Ells

“As Custom Concrete continues to navigate the challenges of the skills gap and talent shortage, we are encouraged by the proactive steps our state is taking to ensure that all Hoosiers can continue to learn and improve their abilities. By better aligning programs and integrating systems through this Strategic Plan, our current and future workforce will have much better access to the resources that they need to become the best versions of themselves.”

Indiana Parenting Institute Chief Operating Officer Jená Bellezza

“As a community-driven nonprofit, I can honestly say that this Strategic Plan works hard to ensure Indiana’s talent development system meets each individual Hoosier where they are at. Whether a job-seeker, job-changer, or employer, it provides innovative ways and opportunities for meeting your goals, with an emphasis on working with you to overcome your barriers to getting there – a first. I am excited to see its full potential at work once transitioned into place. I believe it puts Indiana as a place to watch – where focusing on both talent and employer needs, and equipping both, is the key to achieving a talent development system that works for all.”

120WaterAudit CEO Megan Glover

“Ensuring we have a diverse and skilled workforce is crucial to the State of Indiana's growing tech sector. As a CEO for a growing technology company, it's imperative we have a plan in place to meet the needs of those jobs now and into the future. On behalf of the tech community, I support the Strategic Plan, as it provides pathways and resourcing to skill and place Hoosiers for technology jobs that will have an incredible impact on our state's economic development”.  

Vespa Group Founder Tony Vespa

“As a small business owner, I’m extremely excited to see this plan put into action.  It puts Hoosiers first – aligning programs and resources to provide increased opportunities for our citizens and strengthen our workforce.”

Community Organizations and Partners

Indiana Workforce Board Alliance

“The Indiana Workforce Board Alliance (INWBA) is pleased to see the people-centered approach this strategic plan takes to increase employment opportunities for all Hoosiers. The 12 autonomous regional workforce development boards are committed to serving as catalysts for the successful implementation of this plan and look forward to working collaboratively with appropriate state agencies to establish and execute initiatives that empower its success.”

Lumina Foundation President and CEO Jamie Merisotis

“Indiana is doing the smart thing by taking a comprehensive approach to developing talent. Officials there are weaving together a number of fragmented resources to help people of all racial, ethnic, and income backgrounds get the knowledge and skills they need to build healthy, prosperous lives.”

Skillful Indiana

“Skillful Indiana is very pleased to see a skills-centric, people-focused approach included in the state workforce plan, A Better Future for Every Hoosier.”

Indiana Chamber Vice President of Education and Workforce Development Jason Bearce

“The state’s Strategic Workforce Plan is aligned with the Indiana Chamber’s Indiana Vision 2025 economic development efforts and contains important metrics and measurements that will help ensure its success for all Hoosiers.”

Indiana Institute of Working Families President Jessica Fraser

“The Indiana Institute for Working Families commends the Governor's Workforce Cabinet for the priorities included in its new combined workforce plan. This Plan correctly focuses on the holistic needs of Hoosiers as they try to gain the skills needed to compete in our economy. A combined plan shows that the state is committed to integrating services and collaborating across agencies to provide strategic services and supports to Hoosiers seeking workforce services.”

Foster Success President & CEO Maggie Stevens

“This Strategic Plan maximizes resources across many systems, agencies, and organizations to meet the needs of all Hoosiers including current and former foster youth - working to access education, job training, and other resources to succeed in and contribute to our communities.”

IN*SOURCE Executive Director Joel Boehner

“This Strategic Plan is a step in the right direction toward meeting the needs of students with disabilities and other vulnerable populations to help ensure that all Hoosiers have the supports and opportunities necessary to secure a better future.”