Southern Indiana Business Report
PLAINFIELD – The Lawrence County Economic Growth Council was recently awarded a $35,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation to expand its local jobs training program by adding electrical training to the skills taught in the trades-focused Introduction to Local Jobs and Skills program.
The successful ILJAS – Trades recently graduated its 20th cohort. To date, 250 adults have completed the free training that focuses on machining, welding and construction. ILJAS also teaches employability soft skills and students obtain certification in CPR/AED, first aid, and Stop the Bleed. Students who graduate are equipped with skills to enter the workforce or advance their skills to seek better-paying jobs.
Joe Timbrook, LCEGC’s director of Career Development, said the council’s workforce and development arm, Grow Lawrence County, works with local employers on their training needs.
“Employers communicated to us that there was a need for electrical training and our long-standing partners, Wagler Education & Training Center and the North Lawrence Career Center, are helping us bring the training to our community,” he said.
Beginning with the 21st cohort, slated for August, students will also receive electrical training. Once they complete ILJAS, students can choose to enroll in Indiana’s NextLevelJobs Program (at no cost) for a six-week Core Construction class held at the North Lawrence Career Center. Those students will learn electrical safety, residential wiring and receive their National Center for Construction Education and Research certification.
After completing the class, Timbrook said students can enter an electrical apprenticeship program. Apprentices are paid about $23/hour; those wages increase to about $35-$40/hour after completing the apprenticeship.
With many adults lacking skills to advance to better jobs, ILJAS can open the door to better opportunities.
“We’re just trying to create a pathway so if there’s a next thing they want to accomplish, they get more training, get certified and ultimately have the means to a better quality of life,” Timbrook said.
Lawrence County was one of three organizations in southern Indiana that received a workforce development award from Duke. The shareholder-funded grants aim to equip Hoosiers with in-demand skills and industry-recognized credentials to meet the needs of the region’s employers.
“Local business leaders regularly tell us that a skilled workforce is key to the continued economic growth of the communities we serve,” said Stan Pinegar, president of Duke Energy Indiana. “These grants will help expand the state’s skilled talent pool, create opportunities for individuals facing barriers to employment, and strengthen Indiana’s competitiveness when attracting companies. They are smart investments in our customers and the places they live and work.”
The grants will support innovative workforce training programs that prepare individuals with the skills necessary to thrive in the state’s fastest-growing industries, including the energy, construction and manufacturing fields.
Other organizations receiving grants:
Ivy Tech Foundation (Clark County) – $35,000
Ivy Tech’s funding will be used to develop a virtual reality training space on its Sellersburg campus and to purchase additional VR headsets for training students. The training space will also be used by their school of information technology to offer academic pathway learning labs and events to recruit, retain, and support students on campus. In addition, the grant will fund additional VR headsets to expand training for workplace safety and construction and industrial maintenance to inmates in local county jails in Clark, Floyd, Scott and Crawford counties.
Metropolitan School District of Martinsville (Morgan County) – $37,500
Funds will be used to improve the quality of programming students receive in the “Advanced Manufacturing: Automation and Robotics and Welding and Fabrication” course. New industry-standard materials will be purchased to support the course at Martinsville High School.