Wabash County Workers are Ready for You

New and existing businesses in Wabash County enjoy easy access to a regional workforce of more than half a million within an hour’s drive. Workers here are motivated, hard-working and well prepared to meet the needs of today’s employers.

Resources Available to Your Workforce

Northeast Indiana Works is the region’s nonprofit workforce development organization that provides public and private financial and employment resources for education and skills training to meet the needs of regional industries.
WorkOne Career Centers provide job leads that match people’s skill sets. They also help people identify careers that best align with their interests and aptitudes.
A private, nonprofit adult continuing educational organization, the Freedom Academy, believes that education is the key to economic freedom by providing high-quality, cost-effective education. On-site classes provide customized training tailored to meet the needs of individual business, industry, banks, hospitals government, and non-profit organization throughout Northeast Indiana.
The Learn More Center seeks to eliminate illiteracy, encourage educational attainment, and advance employ-ability through its programs. Students who work with staff and volunteer tutors strengthen math and language skills, develop skills for job advancement, gain confidence, and become lifelong learners.

Great Educational Opportunities Nearby

The success of our education system in Wabash County is a good indicator of the kind of workers you will find here. Our high schools are filled with high-achieving students – with graduation rates of 93-97%. Wabash County has become a national model for encouraging college savings through the Wabash County Promise, and well more than half of our students go on to college after graduation. They have a lot of options to choose from and many that also provide great opportunities nearby for adult learners to gain new skills or improve their current ones. They include:

Heartland Career Center in the City of Wabash
Manchester University in North Manchester, Wabash County
IVY Tech (Indiana Vocational Technical College) in Wabash, Fort Wayne, Kokomo, Marion, or Warsaw, Indiana
Purdue University Fort Wayne
Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana

In Wabash County, we are preparing a workforce capable of meeting the unique needs of your businesses today and well into the future. The best and the brightest are already here, and we can help you find them. Contact us today!

Workforce Development Training Opportunities

Free Certification Training for Qualified Individuals

Wabash County residents wanting to enhance their career by earning certification in CNC Machinist, Welding, or Industrial Maintenance now have the opportunity to attend free training courses. Residents must reside in Wabash County and qualify as low income. Participants who complete the course can receive MSSC, AWS, NIMS certifications. Classes are forming now and will be offered at Ivy Tech Wabash Campus and Heartland Career Center right in Wabash.

These courses will be complimentary to qualified applicants thanks to the Community Development Block Grant awarded through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) and partnering agencies: Northeast Indiana Works/ WorkOne of Northern Indiana, Huntington County Economic Development, Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation, Wabash County CEDIT fund, Community Foundation of Wabash County.

Contact Grow Wabash County via phone at 260-563-5258 or email at info@growwabashcounty.com to see if you qualify for free certification training.

Next Level Jobs Training Grant for Employers and Individuals

Next Level Jobs is part of Governor Holcomb’s Next Level Indiana agenda to continue the positive momentum of our state. Under his leadership with support from the 2017 General Assembly, Indiana is taking the state’s workforce to the next level with a focus on the high-priority industries and high-demand jobs driving Indiana’s 21st Century economy forward.

Two million Hoosiers need additional training to compete in the 21st Century workforce, and there will be over 1 million job openings in Indiana due to retirements and the creation of new jobs by 2025. Whether you’re a Hoosier looking for a better-paying job or an employer looking for a better-skilled workforce, Indiana’s Next Level Jobs initiative can help.

Road to 1 Million Initiative

In Northeast Indiana, “good” is not good enough. We share a vision of bucking Midwest trends and breaking new ground. We forge new opportunities to create meaningful change for our residents, and your business. We have a vision of becoming a region of 1 million people by developing the quality of life needed to attract top talent and expand our business landscape. We call this vision The Road to One Million.

The Road to One Million was formed to apply for the state’s Regional Cities Initiative grant, which seeks to make Indiana a magnet for talent attraction by funding transformative quality of place projects. Northeast Indiana won $42 million through this state initiative and is supported by the Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA), charged with implementing those funds to best reach the goals of increasing economic growth, increasing population growth, and enhancing the region’s national brand identity. The full impact of Indiana’s Regional Cities initiative will not be realized for years to come. Clearly a shot in the arm for quality of place assets in Fort Wayne and other regional communities, Northeast Indiana has committed to our own Road to One Million plan for retaining and attracting skilled talent and increasing our population growth rate. ' Northeast Indiana fully satisfied the state’s $42 million match requirements and committed over $255 million in just one year to fund projects in 10 of 11 counties. Northeast Indiana is led by ambitious people marked by ingenuity and positivity—now that’s a community worth investing in.