Marshall County, IN (January 23, 2017) – Access to a skilled workforce is the most pressing need for employers in Marshall County. With a 3.3% unemployment rate and several recent business expansions resulting in a boost in job creation, workforce development issues are important for the growth of the economy. This is why the Northern Indiana Workforce Board (NIWB), which operates Indiana’s WorkOne centers, and Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) are joining efforts to launch a pilot project in Marshall County that will assess the needs of area businesses and implement tailored solutions.
“We need to better understand the workforce issues facing our employers,” says Jerry Chavez, MCEDC President/CEO. “Together with NIWB and other workforce partners, we will begin to visit with Marshall County employers to understand the daily workforce challenges they face.” The Marshall County Workforce Development Program, due to its innovation, is one of three county programs selected by the
NIWB to develop demand driven results programming. Information collected from the interviews will provide clear, easy to understand data on employer needs which will seed initiatives aimed at providing workforce development solutions.
The Marshall County’s Workforce Development project will utilize a newly designed workforce analysis program developed by Blane Canada, a Chicago based economic development consulting firm. TalentTM is a solution to narrow the information gap in workforce development, which is currently only available in
Indiana through Marshall County. Only a handful of counties in the Midwest have been selected to proof the system before it is made available to the wider economic development community. Information collected from the interviews will provide data on employer needs and will be used to develop a comprehensive workforce development plan. This plan, developed in conjunction with workforce partners, will address immediate needs through workforce recruitment, short term needs through the training of current workers, and long term needs through career-ready youth educational programs.
If successful, Marshall County’s Workforce Development project can be scaled up and made available to other economic development organizations. The partnership between Marshall County and the Workforce Board leverages state resources and leadership to assemble forward thinking, action oriented steps to solve an issue that limits our employer’s ability to grow operations in Indiana. By making this process available to the State, NIWB will be able to use it as a model and expand the program throughout the Region.
For more information, please contact Jerry Chavez, MCEDC President/CEO, at (574) 935-8499.
