SWIC Report for December 2017

By Rob Moore, IAACE President and SWIC Representative

*Met the new DWD Commissioner, Fred Payne, on this, his third day in the position.

*Heard a report from SWIC’s Career Counseling Taskforce. Beginning in January, DWD and DOE will begin an 8th grade pilot program in 15 schools using Indiana Career Explorer. Currently reviewing data from completed ICE assessments to determine if student interest matches employer demand, reviewing Indiana Graduation Plan completion rate in ICE to determine if it adequately prompts students to learn about various career paths, and reviewing the value of other resources and enhances available through the ICE vendor (i.e., Kuder). A Finance 101 course is embedded in Indiana Career Explorer, consisting of 9 chapters of lessons on financial literacy as mandated by the DOE (more details to come).

*Heard a report from SWIC’s Sector Strategies Taskforce. The taskforce gave input to the SkillUp 3 grants, convened regional sector gatherings, defined what a sector partnership is that aligned with that of the federal government. The taksforce developed a matrix that defines the stages of the a sector partnership and a set of process metrics to measure the maturity of a sector partnership and the impact metrics on key audiences (i.e., employers and workers).

*Heard a report of SWIC’s Youth Committee. JAG is looking for volunteers to serve as judges for the March 16 State Career Development Conference Competition at Ivy Tech Indianapolis. The competition lasts only half a day. Our Gov. Holcomb was selected to serve as chair of the JAG National Board beginning Jan. 1, 2018.

*Heard a report of SWIC’s Future of Work Taskforce. In the most recent meeting on November 8, the taskforce heard presentations by Purdue’s Polytechnic High School and Project Lead the Way to gather information on high school programs that are preparing students for the future of work. The taskforce will seek to bring resolutions to SWIC designed to impact policy decisions on how Indiana prepares young people for the future of work.

*Heard a report from SWIC’s Rural Affairs Working Group. Actually, the Working Group hasn’t had a meeting. But the Working Group is seeking to find ways to develop the rural workforce in terms of housing, education, and quality of life.

*Heard a presentation on Governor Holcomb’s “Next Level 2018 Agenda,” which is his workforce development plan released on Nov. 8. http://www.in.gov/gov/files/Final%20Agenda%20Handout.pdf. The Next Level Agenda is comprised of five pillars: 1) Cultivate a Strong and Diverse Economy 2) Maintain and Build the State’s Infrastructure 3) Develop a 21st Century Skills and Ready Workforce 4) Attack the Drug Epidemic, and 5) Deliver Great Government Service. Read the summary here: http://www.in.gov/gov/files/171107_PressRelease_2018NextLevelAgenda_FINAL.pdf. In addition, we learned that approximately 240,000 people visited NextLevelJobs.org as of Monday, December 11th, and 12,000 individuals completed applications to receive training by Vincennes University or Ivy Tech for certifications in high-wage, high demand jobs.

For meeting dates, agendas and recordings visit the DWD SWIC page here.