Indiana is facing a declining labor force participation rate and shortage of skilled workers across industries like health care, advanced manufacturing and transportation. That's according to a report co-released by Ivy Tech Community College.
One group of women is working with students to help address the need for more skilled workers.
Karen Shreves owns a remodeling company in Pendleton with her sister, Beth Carey, and their mom. They started an annual skilled trades career event last year called Build Your Future Trades Day for seventh graders at Pendleton Heights Middle School. Students can explore career paths through hands-on projects, like building tables and wiring lamps.
Shreves said it’s important to showcase skilled trades for students because there’s often a negative perception that only people who can’t get into college have a trade career.
“It's not a leftover career. It's not a leftover kind of job,” Shreves said.
She said the event specifically targets seventh graders because of the state's new diploma requirements. Last December, the Indiana Department of Education finalized new graduation requirements allowing students to choose from one of three pathways: enrollment, employment or enlistment. Indiana students will soon choose their pathway in eighth grade.
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Carey said she wants this event to show students they can be successful with a skilled trade career.
“It's all about opening their eyes to the trades and helping them understand that that is a great career path that you can be very successful in," Carey said.
According to the Ivy Tech report, Indiana will need more than 80,000 people with new skills or credentials
every year over the next decade to meet the demand for skilled workers.
The Indiana Construction Roundtable and the Madison County Builders Association also contributed to this year's event.
Timoria is our labor and employment reporter. Contact her at tcunningham@wfyi.org.