 My View:
The Workforce Ready Grant
Across Indiana, employers are reporting the same problem: not
enough qualified candidates to meet workforce demands. Gone are the days of
high-paying jobs with only a high school diploma. To thrive in today’s dynamic
economy, Hoosiers need a quality degree or workforce credential.
Over half of Indiana’s jobs are middle-skill—requiring
education and training beyond high school but less than a four-year degree.
There are 1.4 million working-age adults in Indiana who have a high school
education or less, and 750,000 more with some college but no degree or
certificate. That’s 59% of our state’s workforce.
On average, Hoosiers lacking these requisite skills have
seen their wages decline and their employment prospects shrink. Today their
situation is more dire than ever.
They have bills to pay. They have people depending on them.
They don’t have the luxury of time.
At the Commission for Higher Education, we understand that a
two- or four-year degree is not the best fit for everyone. Many Hoosiers need a
shorter-term credential to get ahead. With that in mind, we’re partnering with
Governor Holcomb, the Department of Workforce Development and the General
Assembly on a new program designed specifically for working-age adults: the
Workforce Ready Grant.
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Student Success Spotlight:
IUPUI REAL |
Only about one-third of Indiana
college alumni say they had an internship or job in college that helped them apply
what they learned in the classroom. And yet, increasingly, employers want
concrete evidence that prospective employees have the knowledge and skills to
thrive in the workplace. Graduates must know how to market these skills in a
meaningful way.
IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue
University Indianapolis) has a long history of stressing learning outside the
classroom, but like many universities, they never had a standardized way to
officially reflect this. It was with this in mind that IUPUI launched REAL, or
the Record of Experiential and Applied Learning.
REAL was started when IUPUI was
selected as a part of the Comprehensive Student Records project, funded by
Lumina Foundation and spearheaded by AACRAO (American Associate of College
Registrars and Admissions Officers) and NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators
in Higher Education). This project reflects a partnership between the registrar
and student affairs focused on developing a document that moves beyond the
traditional transcript to include student learning and achievement outside the
classroom, too.
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