Latest News

Local Jennings Co. Students Helping to Promote Dream It. Do It.

Indiana's Region 9 Workforce Board and Economic Opportunities through Education 2015 (EcO15), in partnership with educators, businesses, government, and economic development officials throughout a ten county area are adding the faces and stories of local youth to Dream !t Do !t.

This builds on the first general awareness campaign launched in 2007. The goal of Dream !t Do !t Southeast Indiana is to build a pipeline of future advanced manufacturing workers within the Southeast Indiana region to help boost the regional economy and expand education and training opportunities to meet a growing shortage of skilled manufacturing employees.

The awareness campaign features local Jennings County students interested in manufacturing careers, which consists of online and print ads, outdoor billboards, in-theatre, radio, cable advertising, a web site www.dreamit-doit.com/Southeastindiana, student brochures and posters.

The website offers streaming videos featuring local high school students taking a tour of Decatur Mold Tool & Engineering, Inc., links to a career quiz, manufacturing career pathways, internships and educational opportunities.

In Southeastern Indiana, advanced manufacturing and related logistics companies represent the largest economic cluster by employing nearly 40 percent of the region's workforce; paying 20 percent higher than any other industry sectors, and comprising 40 percent of the Department of Workforce Development's 'Hoosier Hot 50 Jobs' list.

Dream !t Do !t seeks to foster economic growth by creating a skilled workforce. The campaign helps young people identify their interests, and find fulfilling careers in manufacturing, with an average salary ($63,000) that are 20 percent higher than the economic median. The campaign also seeks to broaden awareness about today's manufacturing careers such as, a test engineer for an mp3 maker, a designer for a mountain bike manufacturer, a software developer at a computer game company, or a product manager for a high-tech eye scanning security device.

'While it is anticipated that the thousands of manufacturing job openings originally anticipated to be available in 2009 will be pushed out to sometime in 2010, the skills required to perform work in these roles requires education and training that can be acquired now. Students who prepare themselves well, particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) coursework will be better prepared to take advantage of opportunities that will be available when the economy improves. By focusing on STEM coursework, a student also acquires knowledge and skills that are transferable and remain valuable to employers in all sectors,' said John Burnett, Chairperson of Dream It! Do It! Southeast Indiana.