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.

Free Workforce Development Training

Starting Spring 2017 through Fall 2018, individuals wanting to enhance their career by earning certification in CNC Machinist, Welding, or Industrial Maintenance now have the opportunity to attend free training courses through Ivy Tech. Wabash County received a workforce development grant focused on helping Wabash, Huntington, and Kosciusko residents receive MSSC, AWS, NIMS certifications as there is a high demand for well-paying jobs for individuals with those certifications in the three counties.

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, Huntington County Economic Development, Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation, Workone of Northern Indiana, Wabash County CEDIT fund, Wabash County Community Foundation.

The grant is intended to serve people who are under employed and unemployed both of whom are just lacking a certification to get a higher wage job. Across the three counties, $375,000 will be invested in workforce training. $250,000 is coming from OCRA and the remaining $125,000 is being funded from the partner organizations.

Classes are forming now and will be offered at Ivy Tech Wabash Campus, Huntington Learning Center, and Heartland Career Center. Classes will start in the Spring of 2017. Contact Economic Development Group of Wabash County via phone at 260-563-5258 or email at info@edgwc.com to get registered. Applicants will need to complete an application, pass a drug screening, and be residents of Wabash, Huntington, or Kosciusko counties to be eligible.

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 employability 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.

Talent-Development Opportunities

Northeast Indiana Works, through WorkOne Northeast, offers a variety of programs to assist business owners searching for employees and talent. WorkOne Northeast provides businesses with job leads that match specific qualifications too. To help with job searches, WorkOne Northeast gives prospective employees access to computers, the internet, fax machines, and printing so they can find a job in our region.WorkOne also provides free training programs to help your employees grow. These programs further develop your employees’ talents to move them forward in their careers, help fill higher-level positions, and encourage a new entry-level workforce.

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
• Indiana Vocational Technical College (IVY Tech) in Wabash, Fort Wayne, Kokomo, Marion, or Warsaw, Indiana
• Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW)
• 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!