Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
JASPER – Catapult, a hands-on training program in advanced manufacturing for unemployed and underemployed adults, is gearing up for its next session, which will run Nov. 13-Dec. 15 at Vincennes University Jasper campus.
The program targets justice-involved adults, who often struggle to find good-paying jobs. Adults who are no longer in high school can also enroll.
Catapult pays participants up to $480/week during the training; those who complete the class will have job interviews with area manufacturers.
The four-week training includes fundamental skills training, creative problem solving, conditioning and injury prevention, root cause analysis, OSHA standards, blueprint reading, teamwork and ethics.
In 2022, five adults completed Catapult at VUJC. John Tooley, manager of business and industry for the VUJC program, said one student scored the highest score ever on the final exam and three students found jobs making $20/hour. Two students, because of family commitments, were unable to accept employment offers.
“Five area companies came in and interviewed the students and everyone said they wished they could hire all of them,” Tooley said.
In follow-ups with the three students who were hired, all three were still employed three months later.
“The employers need employees,” he said. “It’s a great time to be job hunting.”
Catapult was launched statewide in 2019 by Conexus Indiana, a nonprofit that works to improve the state’s advanced manufacturing workforce. Catapult has eight programs across the state.
Because Catapult is specific to advanced manufacturing, students are well prepared and employers know they are getting a work-ready employee. Catapult is modeled on the Japanese style of manufacturing.
“If you’ve never worked in a production environment, you just don’t know the demands of the job. Plants experience employee turnover because people don’t know what to expect,” Tooley said. “Part of the Catapult training puts them in the production flow of doing a repetitive task for an hour at a time and working with a team, so it shows the students what the job will look like.”
Catapult also is effective at lowering the recidivism rate of justice-involved individuals. The recidivism rate for Catapult graduates is less than 10%. The rate is about 32% for those who’ve not completed the program.
Catapult is offered at the Branchville Correctional Facility, giving those offenders a jump-start on finding a job when they are released.
“The state of Indiana is sold on the program,” said Tooley, who has been a Catapult instructor.
“As an instructor, it’s rewarding because these guys are wanting to make a change, provide for their families and this is a great way to do that.”