By Jason McFarley, Truth Staff
ELKHART -- Steve Barkdull tells employers to not wait long to make job offers to students training for manufacturing work at the Elkhart Area Career Center.
The young people are a prized commodity these days.
"By the time they graduate, we've got three jobs for every kid," said Barkdull, the center's director.
Increasingly, students and even laborers with years of experience are beefing up their skills to be competitive in a manufacturing sector that demands a good general education and a growing amount of technical knowledge.
At the career center, high school students can pursue any of three manufacturing specialties -- welding, machine trades or computer-assisted drafting and design. The two-year programs, which also include basic academic courses such as mathematics, are geared toward preparing students for the workplace, Barkdull said.
"It doesn't matter what the job is, you have to be able to read, write and communicate," he said. "Our students are always in demand. If they come out of our programs with good preparation, there's always jobs for them."
Statewide, well-paying manufacturing positions account for nearly 20 percent of all jobs, and indirectly, the sector supports more than half of Hoosier households, according to industry-sponsored studies.
In Elkhart County, manufacturers employ about half of the work force.
The changing face of factories that rely on more technology and specialized skills than in the past means the labor pool must adapt to keep pace.
At Ivy Tech Community College, campuses in South Bend, Elkhart and Warsaw offer such programs as continuing education, manufacturing training, welding, industrial maintenance and recreational vehicle service. It's all in response to industry needs, said Teresa Shaffer, executive dean of the Elkhart campus.
Enrollment this semester at the college's three campuses in the Elkhart County region increased nearly 10 percent from the count at this time last year. The Elkhart campus alone reported an enrollment boost of more than 12 percent.
Shaffer said the availability of scholarships was a motivating factor for many newcomers, while others were displaced workers or transfer students looking to take general education courses.
"We've seen a big rise in general education, and we're seeing a lot of younger students come right out of high school or leave bigger colleges," she said. "Younger students aren't the typical students you associate with community colleges, but we've made some real inroads in the high schools -- and not just the traditional high schools."
At the national level as well, an effort is under way to get young people to consider careers in skilled manufacturing, an appeal made all the more urgent by the looming retirement of many baby boomer laborers.
The Indiana Manufacturers Association is promoting the "Dream It. Do It" campaign by the National Association of Manufacturers to trumpet the industry to students in middle schools and high schools.