Campaign Targets Work Force ‘Surprises’
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana Commissioner For Higher Education Teresa Lubbers wants the state's first Career Ready campaign will result in a “blurring of the lines” between the state's business and education sectors. The effort aims to connect “every Hoosier student” with work-based experience before graduating high school or college. Lubbers says the campaign will help keep graduates in Indiana and prevent their chosen careers from being “a surprise” when they enter the work force.
April 20, 2015
News Release
Indianapolis, Ind. — Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers and Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann gathered with representatives from business, higher education and the non-profit community to kick off Indiana’s inaugural Career Ready campaign at the Indiana Statehouse Monday.
Career Ready Indiana is a public awareness campaign that runs through July 31, 2015 and will focus on making sure every Hoosier student has a work-based learning experience—like an internship or job shadowing opportunity—before graduating from high school and college.
“We know that when students have meaningful career experiences throughout their education, they are more likely to find and prepare for a career path that matches both their interests and aptitude,” Lubbers said. “Equally important, these work-based opportunities help ensure our students remain in Indiana and are equipped to meet the demands of our rapidly changing workforce and economy.”
Lt. Governor Ellspermann, who is vice-chair of the Indiana Career Council, added, “The Career Council recognizes the value of work-and-learn experiences as well as mentoring and other career counseling to prepare our young Hoosiers for the high-demand, high-pay jobs in the Indiana marketplace. This campaign aligns with the Career Council’s strategic plan goal of adding 10,000 new work-and-learn experiences at Indiana employers.”
The campaign kick-off event showcased efforts by business, higher education and the non-profit community to provide students career experiences. Representatives from enFocus—a South Bend-based non-profit focused on building a stronger workforce pipeline through internships and fellowships, Vincennes University and Backhual Direct, LLC—an Indianapolis-based third-party logistics company—shared their efforts at the Career Ready Indiana launch.
The Career Ready Indiana campaign helps support statewide efforts to better align K-12, higher education and the workforce. From April through July, Career Ready Indiana will gather and highlight successful statewide and regional efforts, connect schools and businesses in every county, and share best practices and tools for career experiences through CareerReadyIndiana.org.
Source: Indiana Commission For Higher Education