Preparing Post-Secondary Learners for Indiana's leading Industries

Abstract

The Advanced Manufacturing Industry in Indiana has increased nearly twice as rapidly as most other States. While the demand for higher skilled workers increases, the production of trained employees has not. The STEM Education Research Institute (SERI) has collaborated with Employ Indy, Project Lead the Way (PLTW), and the Excel Center to facilitate a 16-week pilot. This pilot connects competencies from PLTW with five Industry Certifications desired by businesses and colleges surveyed throughout the state. The eighteen week pilot begins the second week of April and has a four week job shadowing component at the eight week mark. The target population is disconnected/discouraged adult learners that have no training in manufacturing. Industry Certifications include: OSHA 10, Certified Logistic Associate, Certified Logistics Technician, Autodesk Inventor and National Career Readiness Certification. This program also offers the opportunity for students to complete a PLTW course and receive duel credit through Ivy Tech or IUPUI. A mixed methods research/evaluation design has been constructed and reviewed. It will be implemented throughout the duration of this pilot. The results will be used formatively to refine the pilot before running a second pilot in the late Fall of 2015.