La Porte Mayor to Fill New Cabinet Position

Governor Eric Holcomb and Secretary of Career Connections and Talent Blair Milo will be in attendance.

Governor Eric Holcomb Thursday signed an executive order to create a new cabinet-level position aimed at connecting Indiana residents with employers and attracting talent to fill jobs throughout the state. The governor has tapped La Porte Mayor Blair Milo to serve as Indiana’s first secretary of career connections and talent. The position will serve as the state’s chief talent recruitment officer and will oversee the State Personnel Department.

Holcomb says Milo will work with businesses, trade associations, colleges and universities, and public officials to identify employment needs and help workers take advantage of training opportunities to fill the estimated one million job openings Indiana is expected to see over the next decade.

At a news conference Thursday, Holcomb said Milo was "uniquely qualified" to serve in her new role. "She has a lot of experience as mayor of La Porte. She’s seen on her watch over $260 million in economic development investment. She’s ushered in 1,100 new jobs in La Porte. She serves on the Workforce Innovation Council and she chairs the Career Counseling Task Force."

Milo was elected mayor of La Porte in 2011. She says she is honored and excited to be named to this new position. In a letter to the members of the La Porte City Council, Milo said, "We will focus on reducing mismatched skill sets, unfinished degrees and opioid abuse in the workforce while increasing communication for tailored training pathways, career skills for incarcerated individuals and retention of talented Hoosiers for new career fields we haven’t yet dreamt of."

Milo will begin her new role August 14. She says she will work with the new La Porte mayor to ensure a smooth transition. You can view Governor Holcomb’s announcement below: