Indiana Forges Partnership With Germany To Address Workforce Skills Gap

09 Jul 2013

A new partnership with Germany aims to improve workforce development in Indiana, officials announced Monday.

The “Skills Initiative” models the European country’s integrated career education in the classroom and training on the job.

Peter Ammon, the German ambassador to the United States, said his country will share its best practices with Indiana as the state addresses its skills gap – a lack of trained workers to fill open jobs. Republican Gov. Mike Pence has targeted that gap as a top policy priority.

Indiana recently formed regional works councils, seeking to create more vocational training in high schools and community colleges based on local needs.

“The lack of a properly trained workforce is a bottleneck,” Ammon said.

The initiative could also benefit Indiana as German companies look to invest in the United States. Pence and U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, R-Indiana, continued to underscore the need to increase career training and Ivy Tech Community College’s prominent role in providing that. “We’ve already put workforce development at the center of economic development,” Pence said.

Source:http://www.indystar.com/article/20130708/NEWS04/307080065/Indiana-forges-partnership-Germany-address-workforce-skills-gap