Fun Finds Friday: Manufacturing Workforce Training Program

[dot_recommends] June 10, 2022 Manufacturing Challenges

Catapult Indiana provides four weeks of free training to fill the manufacturing workforce gap and boost earnings for graduates

manufacturing workforce training program

We’re all aware that workforce recruitment and retention continue to challenge the manufacturing sector in the U.S. In particular, finding enough skilled workers can seem impossible. Indiana has developed a manufacturing workforce training program to help solve this problem.

Indiana’s program, “Catapult Indiana,” builds a ramp for unemployed and underemployed workers to enter manufacturing careers. The program provides 80 hours of classroom and hands-on training. Topics include quality, safety, and productivity as well as basic skills for operating common machinery.

What Catapult does for manufacturing

According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, Catapult Indiana provides four weeks of free training to qualified participants.

  • Builds on the successes of the Rapid Reemployment for Advanced Manufacturing Positions (RAMP) program founded in 2015.
  • Connects employers with program partners developing trainees: Ivy Tech Community College, Vincennes University, community centers, and the Department of Correction’s Branchville Correctional Facility.
  • Provides prepared entry-level workers with over 150 graduates so far!
  • Saves some of the costs of on onboarding new workers for manufacturing companies.

For Workers: Training on skills in high-demand, high-wage manufacturing jobs

Diverse program participants include refugees, prisoners, other unemployed and underemployed adults, as well as graduating high school students.

  • The Catapult program provides a means for qualified participants to prepare for high-wage, high-demand jobs.
  • African refugees and immigrants drawn to Indiana for warehouse work benefit from this chance to advance their careers.
  • Trainees who complete the training get the opportunity to interview for jobs.
  • Having this entry point into manufacturing gives students hope for a career with advancement potential.
  • According to the program website, it achieves a 70% graduation rate and a 90% job placement rate for graduates, much better than many college programs.
  • Average pay for graduates in new positions is $18 per hour.

One recent program graduate, Yoriel Colon, described the program as challenging but not impossibly difficult. He and other graduates appreciate what this manufacturing workforce training program means for their future.

Our mission to support manufacturers and workers

Here at StratMg, we partner with manufacturers in Indiana and other manufacturing-heavy states for consistent business growth that supports jobs.

We also support access to work for underrepresented workers, particularly workers with disabilities. So, this story jumped out at us as something we wanted to share in our Fun Finds series.

What uplifting stories do you have to share?

Let’s talk! Or, send us a message on LinkedIn or Tweet us.

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With over two decades of experience, Parin leads an expert demand-generation agency, StratMg, that helps industrial manufacturing clients achieve unambiguous and quantified organic sales growth across the US, EMEA & APAC.

Parin has built & positioned StratMg to be a value-added marketing services provider that strives to create a culture of quantified sales-driven marketing initiatives leading to sustained business growth through channel management, diversification, new customer acquisition and retention strategies and tactical execution.

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