Welders have long been in high demand but short supply in Northwest Indiana and across the nation.
The LaPorte Economic Advancement Partnership hopes to remedy that imbalance in the labor market.
LEAP is partnering with Ivy Tech Community College and New York Blower to launch an adult certification program for welders this fall.
It’s a collaboration with the city of LaPorte, the LaPorte Community School Corp. and the Center of Workforce Innovations to cultivate a more skilled workforce.
It’s part of an ongoing initiative to partner with employers, pinpoint areas of need and ready people for high-demand jobs “with great career potential.”
“I have seen a change in how our stakeholders and employers interact with one another within our community since developing our network,” said Mike Riehle, president of business services for the LaPorte Economic Advancement Partnership. “Rather than working in silos there is both a want and need to collaborate to bring incremental change to our workforce.”
People are also reading…
Local companies are currently in need of welders. The new program will help people qualify by getting them certified for MIG/Gas Metal Arc welding.
“One of our ongoing initiatives within Ivy Tech is to provide opportunities for training in areas of high need within the communities we serve,” Ivy Tech Valparaiso Chancellor Aco Sikoski said. “LaPorte has shown great initiative to take this process to a new level and get investment from our local employer base and we will continue to do our part in providing a superior level of skills.”
Scott Hamilton, executive vice president of operations of New York Blower, said his company needed more qualified welders.
“New York Blower wanted to be part of the solution to this skills and employment gap,” he said. “The best way to do that was to put our best foot forward in creating a partnership with our community to not only give us an opportunity to hire skilled workers, but our whole employer base within our area.”
The program will start around Nov. 1 in New York Blower’s LaPorte plant and end before Christmas.
For more information, visit Valparaiso-CCEC@ivytech.edu.