Indiana Chamber Releases ‘Indiana’s Leaking Talent Pipeline’

Suggests Policies to Help Bolster Attainment Level, Fill Jobs

(INDIANAPOLIS) — Improving K-12 outcomes for students of all races and income levels and greatly elevating the postsecondary attainment levels of Indiana’s adult workforce are the most significant challenges facing the state, according to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

That’s because in the race to develop and establish a well-skilled, well-educated workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow, Indiana is behind its competitor states. Currently, there are twice as many job openings in Indiana as there are jobseekers. And the workforce participation rate remains lower than before the pandemic started.

“We hear it from employers, and we see it in virtually every education and workforce statistic. It’s that Indiana has a massively leaking talent pipeline,” declares Indiana Chamber President and CEO Kevin Brinegar.

He points to two key statistics: A little more than half of all Hoosiers age 20 to 65 with only a high school diploma are employed. For those with no high school diploma, 60% are not in the workforce.

The Indiana Chamber has developed a brief white paper called “Indiana’s Leaking Talent Pipeline” (www.indianachamber.com/talentpipeline) that delves into this dilemma and what can and must be done to right the ship.

“We first should concentrate our policy focus and state resources on improving the outcomes and skills of those at the bottom end of the educational attainment scale. That’s one of the very best ways to improve our overall workforce participation rate and fill the open jobs we have,” Brinegar offers.

There is a high level of alignment between the steps the Indiana Chamber believes should be taken to bolster the state’s overall talent landscape and the recent 30 recommendations from the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet.

Brinegar, Jason Bearce, the Indiana Chamber’s vice president of education and workforce development, and Paul Perkins, the organization’s board chairman from Amatrol, a provider of online career and technical education solutions, were part of the workgroups that suggested and vetted recommendations to the Cabinet.

“We celebrate their work, focus and commitment to getting this right,” Brinegar begins. “Over the past few months, we’ve been sharing our pipeline document with the Governor, the Workforce Cabinet, legislators and other stakeholders. We are pleased so much of the concerns outlined in it and policies developed from it have been addressed in the Cabinet’s final report.”

There are any number of actions lawmakers should strongly consider in the upcoming legislative session, he continues, but notes two are particularly vital in enabling young Hoosiers nearing the point of entering the workforce full time to realize their potential.

Indiana still has one of the lowest Free Application for Student Aid or FAFSA completion rates in the country. Legislation passed in 2022 ensures families receive information about FAFSA and its importance in accessing resources to pay for postsecondary education. But for the majority, the Indiana Chamber and others contend filling out the FAFSA form should be a requirement for high school graduation.

The 21st Century Scholars program is another area in which much needed process improvement and fulfillment needs to occur, Brinegar stresses. The initiative provides free college tuition for low-income students who graduate from high school and who have completed a short list of preparatory activities.

“That participation level is shockingly low because students don’t know about it or have the support to apply. What needs to happen is for every qualified student to be made aware and automatically enrolled,” he asserts.

It all begins, however, with a strong early foundation. The Indiana Chamber is pushing for increased public and private sector investment to help address the “clear and distressing decline in learning among all young Hoosiers – particularly low-income and minority students – the last few years,” Bearce remarks.

“Later on in their education journey, dedicated career exploration courses (and related experiences) as expectations for all middle and high school students, as well as increased regional capacity for more work-based learning experiences would aid tremendously in the state growing its own talent,” he adds.

“And every student in every Indiana high school should have available to them the full array of college core courses needed for the next level of education attainment. No student should be penalized or hindered in their postsecondary preparation due solely to their geographic location or size of their school district.”

Bearce also notes that initiatives around retaining college graduates and providing employer incentives to increase the number of work-based learning opportunities are also high on the policy list for the Indiana Chamber.

The organization’s “Leaking Talent Pipeline” document covers workforce rankings and rates, student learning and proficiency, underutilized programs, the impact of too many school districts, and postsecondary education and job openings. It is available to download for free at www.indianachamber.com/talentpipeline.

With this effort and its top legislative priorities, announced last week, the Indiana Chamber is seeking to help frame the important talent conversation that will take place in the 2023 General Assembly – and, as Brinegar concludes, “to push for transformative actions that will have the most impact on the state.”

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The Indiana Chamber partners with 25,000 members and investors – representing over four million Hoosiers – to achieve the mission of “cultivating a world-class environment which provides economic opportunity and prosperity.”