INDIANAPOLIS –  A group of industry, educational and economic leaders meet to inventory Indiana’s skills deficiencies and resolve to develop a framework to align educational outcomes to employers’ future needs. Sound familiar? Was it a meeting of Governor Mitch Daniels’ Strategic Skills Initiative?

2005 Department of Workforce Development: Indiana Regions Awarded Workforce Development Grants

“Representatives from business, education, labor, economic and workforce development developed these plans, which will identify and quantify short-term and long-term skills shortages, and create and implement regional solutions.”

Maybe a meeting Governor Mike Pence’s Career Council?

2013 From Indiana Public Media Career Council Tasked With Preparing Jobs Inventory

“…Governor Mike Pence emphasized the council will not just be a discussion group. It is required by statute to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for coordinating the state’s job and skills training initiatives by July 1, 2014. He says that work begins by evaluating what the state is already doing in those areas.

“And then look for ways that we can amplify what’s working and essentially realign and reorganize our whole system of workforce education around what works,” said Pence.”

Or perhaps it was yesterday’s debut of Holcomb’s “new” Workforce Cabinet?

2018 Times of Northwest Indiana Governor’s Workforce Cabinet begins big task of aligning Indiana’s education and job training programs

“The 21 members of the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet convened for the first time Tuesday in a spirit of optimism, but also keenly aware of the challenge of their task to align Indiana’s education and workforce training programs, invest in what works and dump what doesn’t.

“They promptly organized into five “action teams” to start evaluating where Indiana stands in terms of college and career funding, career coaching opportunities, career and technical education programs, workforce services, and local job training offerings.”

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody noted how light the previous iterations of workforce development working groups have been on actual results.

“Indiana Republicans love to convene board meetings,” said Zody. “But by their own admission, previous GOP efforts to boost the Indiana workforce have failed. So why is Governor Holcomb adhering to the same strategy of more red tape and few tangible results?”

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