ANDERSON – The manager of the NTN Driveshaft facility said the employee turnover rate at the Anderson plant is the lowest of the company’s facilities in Indiana.
Tyrone Thomas took part in a roundtable discussion on workforce development with Gov. Eric Holcomb at Purdue Polytechnic Anderson on Monday.
“Turnover of employees is killing manufacturing,” Thomas said. “We need to make employees understand why that part being manufactured is important.
“The people in Anderson want to get a job and do well,” he said. “That’s why our company has built two plants here and is considering a third.”
Holcomb said the state has come a long way in developing a skilled workforce and there is a need to get those programs in place.
“We want to make sure that no matter where you live in Indiana you have access to a workforce development program,” he said.
Holcomb said what he heard from employers during the round table is there is a need for a greater talent pool from which to draw.
“Anderson is a great place for companies to invest,” he said. “We are blinking lights to potential investors that there is a low cost of living, a low cost to do business and live within our means.
“We have the infrastructure in place through the Community Crossroads program and local communities like Anderson and Elwood are working together on programs through investments in our roads,” he said.
Holcomb said in 2018 his administration is focusing on getting people the skills needed to find employment.
“We want to make success stories for everyone,” he said. “People with disabilities could be in the workforce meeting their full potential. The folks that need a second chance in the prison system.”
He said there are 27,000 people in the prison system, leaving a $758 million hit on the state budget with a 30 percent return rate.
“Get them into good jobs in communities like Anderson,” Holcomb said. “Places like this are so important to our future.
“You have the skilled workforce,” he said of Anderson. “It is a place that has a great economy, infrastructure and workforce.”
Purdue student Alex Huff said he is working on multiple projects through an internship at Red Gold.
“I never imaged working on these big projects before I finished school,” he said. “What I’m learning can apply with hands-on skills at Red Gold."
Huff said he is completing a four-year degree program at Purdue Polytechnic and will graduate with no debt.
Tim Ingle, a vice president for human resources at Red Gold, said the company pays 100 percent of the tuition costs for its interns.
“We need to grow more talent,” he said. “The partnerships we have is leading the way in developing those workforce skills.”