STATEHOUSE (Feb. 21, 2017) – The House Committee on Ways and Means passed a proposal authored by State Rep. Todd Huston (R-Fishers) that works to attract, retain and improve Indiana’s workforce.
“There is no more important issue in Indiana than developing a strong, well-trained workforce,” Huston said. “In an economy that is transforming overnight and where job openings require highly skilled workers, Indiana has to restructure our workforce system to support our employers’ needs and our students’ skills.”
The bill would establish the Workforce Ready Grant for high-value certificates from either Ivy Tech Community College or Vincennes University. It would cover any remaining costs for a student after state and federal financial aid for a student to receive a certification for skills required in a high demand, high wage job.
The bill also seeks to increase enrollment in the Adult Student Grant, which encourages and helps adults to go back to college and complete their degree.
“If an employee already has some secondary study or training, this measure would assist them in resuming their studies,” Huston said. “Providing incentives for those who are holding down a steady career but who also want to keep gaining college credit and eventually obtain a degree or high value certification will increase the pool of skilled workers right here in Indiana.”
Huston said it is important to ensure our various workforce development programs are aligned with one another. The legislation would require the governor to provide the General Assembly a plan to streamline and restructure state government workforce programs.
The final element of this proposal would require specific and uniform success metrics for all workforce-related programs in Indiana. Along with annual reporting requirements to the governor and legislature, this will provide a better picture of the state’s return-on-investment for these programs as well as identify areas needing improvement.
“Indiana has established an environment to help employers grow and thrive, now they need skilled workers to fill those positions,” Huston said. “With properly aligned workforce development programs and performance benchmarks, we can help the businesses in our state continue to employ Hoosiers and prosper.”
The proposal now heads to the full House for consideration.
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State Rep. Todd Huston (R-Fishers) represents House District 37,
which includes portions of Hamilton County.
A high-resolution photo of Huston can be downloaded by clicking here.
