In a state where basic skills are no longer enough to meet the new requirements of key industries, the responsibility may now fall upon workers to be proactive in lifelong learning.
Community, business and education leaders met at a regional work force summit Monday morning to discuss the nearly 1 million Hoosiers who are untrained for a technologically advancing economy.
According to a report introduced by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, 931,366 people in Indiana experience one or a combination of the following career hindrances: No high school diploma, no college education or a limited grasp of the English language.
A lack of skilled laborers is causing growing frustration among Indiana employers, Indiana Chamber Senior Vice President Mark Lawrance said.
"The business people here are very interested in this issue," Lawrance said. "They're experiencing frustration in dealing with the present system and the results they're getting from the K-12 system."
Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman said he attended the summit in order to learn as much as he could about matching changing workplace standards with an able labor force.
"Change is coming faster and faster," Kauffman said. "Even if people are prepared for jobs of today, they're not necessarily prepared for a job tomorrow. It's not necessarily assuming that a high school education is going to be enough."
The solution, Ivy Tech President Tom Snyder said, is bringing community, economy and education together to foster wide interest in lifelong learning.
"I think there's a concern that there's not a seamless system," Snyder said. "Workers don't sense the opportunity."
For instance, Kay Cochrane, Region II operator of the Workforce Development Group, said a survey of 129 Indiana employers revealed that no employees take advantage of tuition reimbursement programs.
"They just didn't," Cochrane said was the explanation.
Changing the ideologies of nearly 1 million people is much easier said than done, but the summit served as a significant first step, said Chris Murphy, chairman of 1st Source Bank and also the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
"We have a better understanding of where people are in the state relative to their needs," Murphy said, "and the importance to working together to meet those needs."