Gov. Mike Braun is continuing to put his stamp on Indiana's efforts to develop a productive workforce for Hoosier employers.
The Republican signed an executive order Monday reestablishing the Indiana Workforce Development Board as a central coordinating body to align employers, education, training providers and state agencies around measurable workforce development outcomes.
"My most important responsibility is making life better for Hoosier families on the kitchen table issues that really matter, and that means new job opportunities, higher wages and a clear path to a high-paying skilled career," Braun said.
According to the governor, the new board will feature an unspecified number of entrepreneurs and representatives from businesses of all sizes located in Indiana's cities, suburban and rural communities.
Its duties will include advising Braun and the secretary of commerce on workforce development strategies and devising comprehensive state performance accountability measures.
"We will use the Indiana Workforce Development Board to bring together an elite team of job creators and workforce development experts to help create new opportunities and bigger paychecks for Hoosier workers," Braun said.
The state's original workforce development board was dissolved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly in 2018 at the request of Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who believed a smaller "Governor's Workforce Cabinet" could more nimbly address Indiana's workforce challenges.
After mixed results, the Legislature repealed the workforce cabinet statute earlier this year and transferred its duties to the Department of Workforce Development pending the establishment of a new Workforce Development Board.
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