Arika Herron recently
reported on what the $1 billion the State of Indiana spends each year on
Workforce Development “looks like”. She tours the Haas Training Educational
Center in Lebanon which offers a 15-week course called Right Skills Now CNC Machining.
She describes a growing problem in Indiana; there are not enough skilled
workers to fulfill the needs of local businesses. This phenomenon is sometimes
referred to as the “skills gap”. Herron quotes Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb as
saying “the state has 85,000 unfilled jobs because employers can’t find skilled
workers.” In addition, according to Herron, Indiana has “475,000 [adults]
without a high school diploma.”
With all of these jobs
remaining unfilled, it is good that the State and the Haas Training Educational
Center have partnered to “skill up” Indiana’s residents for the high-paying,
high-demand jobs of the 21st century. It is especially good for the
two men who are highlighted in the story, one a former graphic designer and the
other a current Subaru employee. However, not all of Indiana’s residents are at
a place in life where they are prepared financially, educationally, or
emotionally for the rigors of a “15-week” training course like the one offered
at Haas. Some of Indiana’s residents, like the aforementioned 475,000 without a
high school diploma, or those who have experienced an extreme lack of stability
in their lives, require a little more assistance to become ready for that type
of training. And that is exactly what Fathers and Families Center offers.
2018 marks Fathers and
Families Center’s 25th year of serving Marion County families. We provide
a holistic continuum of programs and services to at-risk fathers to help move
them and their families out of poverty and on to self-sufficiency and
stability. Our approach is to remove existing barriers to self-sufficiency such
as: lack of education and job training, addiction, family instability, and
transportation. To accomplish this, Fathers and Families Center offers a 3-week
class called Strong Fathers which focuses on parenting, life skills, and job
readiness. We also have an onsite licensed mental health counselor who provides
addiction and family counseling. Many of our program participants do not have
their high school diploma so we employ a full time education specialist who
helps prepare them for the high school equivalency test, a test which is
offered on site and at no cost to Strong Fathers participants.
Fathers and Families
Center has been very successful using this approach. As a result of our success
we were 1 of 5 Indianapolis non-profits to be awarded EmployIndy’s Community
Development Block Grant. This grant is meant to help organizations implement
EmployIndy’s ABC initiative which stands for “A job, a Better job, a Career.” This
year Fathers and Families Center will partner with a diverse group of local
training providers such as Hoosier Occupational Training Services, Health and
Science Innovation, The Indiana Plan, and Ivy Tech to offer advanced training
opportunities to all of our participants and connect them with employers in
need of fully trained and credentialed employees.
Fathers and Families
Center supports the Governors workforce development initiative and thanks the
IndyStar’s Arika Herron for bringing attention to it. The purpose of this
response is to help complete the picture of what this initiative “looks like”.
Indiana can and should offer funding for training programs like Haas, but if
residents are not prepared to take part in them, they will not be as successful
as they could be, and Indiana’s “skills gap” may not be closed anytime soon.
