We must change the way we train

To the editor:
The string of announcements of new jobs and investment continues to uplift Indiana.
The state continually provides information concerning companies moving to Indiana; or for those who currently reside here, announcements of additional investment and job opportunities.
Currently, more Hoosiers are working than at any other time in the state’s 200-year history. Indiana’s private-sector employment surpassed all previous historic benchmarks in July. The positive news continues with 291,600 private-sector jobs being added since July 2009, which ranks Indiana as 12th in the nation.
Since July 2009, our state has added the second most number of manufacturing jobs at 91,300. That ranked Indiana as third in the nation for manufacturing job growth at 21.3 percent.
Indiana has grown the fourth most manufacturing jobs in the United States over the past year with a gain of 11,800 jobs, and is eighth in the nation in the rate of growth for that period at 2.3 percent. And proudly, Indiana continues to have the highest concentration of manufacturing jobs in the United States.
Additionally, Indiana’s labor force participation rate, currently at 63.5 percent, has been above the national average of 62.6 percent for 22 consecutive months. All of this positive growth has led to Indiana’s unemployment rate dropping to 4.7 percent in July — better than the national rate of 5.3 percent.
Most economists will tell you that an unemployment rate of 5 percent or under is considered full employment. With that, it becomes increasingly difficult to find those job applicants who possess the types of skills needed for today’s workforce.
According to a study done for the Indiana Career Council, today 34 percent or 1.17 million Hoosiers currently have some sort of post-secondary credential or above. By the year 2025, an additional 675,000 Hoosiers will be needed with post-secondary credentials. Of those 675,000, 7.5 percent to 18 percent (50,600 to 126,500) will need pre-baccalaureate certifications/certificates; and 56 percent to 67.5 percent (379,500 to 455,400) will need associate degrees. And up to 25 percent (169,000) will need bachelor’s degrees or above.
The bottom line is that the global, U.S. and Indiana economies are changing. Skill sets that were once viewed as appropriate are now deemed as inadequate. The pace of change will only accelerate.
With that acceleration, the demand for a skilled workforce will only increase. We must develop a delivery system that meets those demands. If we don’t, the pace of job announcements will slow, current Hoosier jobs could go elsewhere, and Hoosiers will lose out on the opportunities that lie in front of us.
We don’t have a choice. Change is dictating that we change.
Brian Burton
President
Indiana Manufacturers Association