Holcomb: Too many Hoosiers unprepared for jobs of the future

The newly inaugurated governor, speaking to a joint session of the Indiana General Assembly, largely reiterated priorities he previously sketched out in his legislative agenda—from coming up with a long-term road funding plan to curbing the state’s opioid problem. But he emphasized need for Indiana's workforce to modernize with its economy.

“For all our growing strength in high tech, too many Hoosier businesses are having trouble finding the skilled workers they need to grow,” Holcomb said. “With our 21st century economic increasingly driven by knowledge and advanced skills, too many Hoosiers are not properly prepared for the jobs of the future—not just potential scientists and engineers but also coders, machinists, mechanics, and welders.”

Holcomb, following one of his predecessor Mike Pence’s State of the State addresses, also declared his support for a proposed balanced budget amendment to the Indiana constitution, a measure that passed a legislative committee on Tuesday. If it passes both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly, the measure will go directly to Hoosiers in the November 2018 election.

“This sets us apart from many other states, keeps us in a good position to withstand a future economic downtown, and encourages businesses to locate and stay in Indiana,” Holcomb said.

Though Holcomb has not specifically laid out his own long-term road funding solution—he said in the speech that he is “open to a menu of options”—he did acknowledge the state will likely need to seek new revenue from Hoosiers to meet its road repair and construction needs.

“The fact is, existing sources of revenue are just not keeping up,” Holcomb said. “I’m a believer that every time you ask a taxpayer for a dollar, you better be darn sure you need it and are going to use it effectively for its intended purpose. And here’s a case that if we ask Hoosiers to invest a little more, to meet the need, the return is going to be well worth it…”