Lawmakers propose solution to help address Indiana's skilled worker shortage

Senate lawmakers advanced a bill aimed at helping unemployed Hoosiers experiencing trouble getting back into the workforce.

Senate Bill 488 would open the door for Indiana to launch a new certification program for high-demand jobs.

The proposed legislation would allow the Indiana Department of Workforce Development to create a skills training pilot program, available for eligible Hoosiers on the state’s unemployment insurance program.

The program would be available for people who are unlikely to find work without more training and people who are more likely to complete the training with a weekly incentive. Those determinations would be made by DWD.

Sen. Liz Brown (R-Fort Wayne), one the bill’s authors, said this program could help increase wages for those who finish it.

“We are trying to get our workforce up to the next level,” Brown said.

The program could also add to an individual's unemployment benefits each week they are both eligible and make satisfactory progress toward an approved training program.
 

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Erin Macey is with the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute. She said with career opportunities changing over time, people need to learn and acquire new credentials.

"We see this skills training pilot program as an opportunity for someone who is experiencing unemployment to take that time to earn a credential or degree in a higher wage, higher opportunity field," Macey said. "And so that they can go back into the workforce and be more successful and be more insulated from experiencing poverty."

Macey said she likes the idea of offering an incentive on top of unemployment benefits, since Indiana's weekly cap is $390.

The bill now heads to the House.
 

Timoria is our labor and employment reporter. Contact her at tcunningham@wfyi.org.