Advancing our workforce through internships

“Align,” “engage” and “advance” turned out to be more than just political buzzwords on Tuesday.

I had the opportunity to attend Align, Engage, Advance: Transforming Indiana’s Workforce cohosted by the Center for Education and Career Innovation and Education Workforce Innovation Network. The conference presented the Indiana Career Council’s strategic plan, and opened my eyes to the challenges Indiana faces with employment. It also reassured me the Indiana INTERNnet will play a significant role in helping provide paths for career success in Indiana.

The biggest lesson I took away from the day is that experiential learning is a driving force in the efforts to elevate Indiana’s workforce.

Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann said that she and the rest of the Indiana Career Council hope 60% of Indiana’s workforce will have postsecondary credentials by 2025. This includes industry-recognized certifications, apprenticeships and certificates, among others. Internships provide hands-on, real-world context to classroom studies and fit perfectly into the Career Council’s strategic plan. Objective 4 is to “Elevate the importance of work-and-learn models,” and that is a foundation of Indiana INTERNnet’s mission. We are pleased that state government recognizes the importance of experiential learning in the workforce development strategy.

John Pryor, Lead Researcher for Gallup Education, who directs the research on the Gallup-Purdue Index, said that having interns is “more than good corporate citizenship. It is something that makes sense for productivity.”

Pryor cited Great Jobs, Great Lives: The 2014 Gallup-Purdue Index Report (http://bit.ly/1nHuQvP). Those with past internship experience in the study were more likely to have jobs that they considered “great.” These great jobs lead to happier employees and higher quality of life, and much of this relates to prior internships.

There is much work to be done. The conference not only highlighted where stakeholders can improve workforce development regionally and statewide, but showed how Indiana INTERNnet and other organizations are taking steps toward a stronger working state.