Braun announces Power Up Indiana initiative

Source: Indiana Capital Chronicle

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun announced the creation of Power Up Indiana, an initiative designed to incentivize Hoosier employers to invest within through training and promoting existing employees.

Using $10 million appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly, the state’s Office of Commerce says it will provide grants to employers of all sizes and industries to offer employee training with the goal of building skills to match the needs of their open positions.

“This is really focused on the incumbent workforce,” Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Adams told reporters at the Indiana Statehouse. “Think about the 3.5 million working Hoosiers, and how do we help employers fill those high-value, high-wage jobs that they’re looking to seat? We’re doing it through the existing workforce and providing skilling programs.”

Qualified employers could receive training reimbursement grants of up to $5,000 per employee trained and up to $50,000 per employer annually.

In order to qualify for grant funding, employers must be in Indiana and meeting a specific starting wage requirement. Employees must receive at last a 25% wage increase upon completing their training, and those wages must exceed the median wage for the region.

“One of the things that’s really important to the governor and myself is that for every taxpayer dollar we’re putting out there, are we actually getting a return on that investment?” Adams said. “So we’re actually going to be monitoring this as well to ensure that the wage increase is a minimum of that.”

Additionally, the training that employees receive must be technical training that results in industry-recognized credentials, cross-training or reskilling, leadership development, or registered apprenticeships.

Braun told reporters that the Power Up Indiana program will be separate from other employee training programs offered through the Indiana Economic Development Corp. He said the program also builds on the recently updated high school graduation requirements that have a greater focus on work-based and career readiness.

“We finally now just got structure that’s going to balance postsecondary education with workforce,” Braun said. “We’re losing time and money, and this is just a new, innovative component – to look within your own entity … to where the goal is to keep our kids looking to build their families and their livelihoods in our home state.”

Adams said another goal of the program is to spotlight Indiana companies that are already working to build from within.

“We want to make sure we hold up these organizations as beacons of light for other organizations, so they can see how to make this happen within their own company,” he said.

One example is Indianapolis-based Keystone Cooperative, which last year launched its career development program called SEED, or Securing Experience and Employee Development.

The program is geared toward recent high school graduates and FFA members who do not plan to enroll in college. The graduates chosen receive full-time employment and benefits, on-the-job training, and professional accreditations and certifications paid by the agriculture cooperative.

“This program was actually developed from the challenge so many businesses are facing: an aging workforce. That retiring workforce leaves behind critical institutional knowledge and skills that us at Keystone realized we had to replace,” said Sarah Morehouse with Keystone. “We had to create a bench, per se, of skilled, talented, well-rounded employees that had an affinity for agriculture and understanding the why behind our business, not just the how.”

The Indiana Chamber of Commerce praised the launch of the Power Up Indiana program, saying in a statement Tuesday that the effort will lead to a stronger economy.

“We think the Power Up initiative is aligned to support the talent needs of the state and will be beneficial to Hoosier enterprises,” senior vice president of strategic partnerships and impact Todd Hurst said in written remarks. “We look forward to working with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development in communicating about the program and helping employers advance their talent development strategies.”

The chamber itself is preparing to launch its Workforce First Employer designation next month. The designation aims to “identify employers who play a leading role in strengthening the workforce and contributing to the broader talent development ecosystem.”

You can learn more about the Power Up Indiana program by clicking here.