Hoosier employers want to work with students and adult learners seeking on-the-job training, according to a recent survey, but few take advantage because they don’t have the time, capacity or funds.
The newly released results from a summertime survey conducted by Chamberlin/Dunn, LLC on behalf of the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, included 348 employers across 62 counties and 17 industries. Both Ivy Tech Community College and the Indiana Chamber Research Foundation supported the study, which had both small employers with less than 50 employees and larger employers with over 1,000 employees.
“We know that employer demand for workers continues to outpace Indiana’s supply of Hoosiers looking for work, leading to policy makers in the state to create robust youth and adult work-based learning and other talent development programming,” said Stephanie Wells, the president of IFPI. “This research was conducted, in part, to determine if that employer demand for talent translates into a willingness on the part of employers to participate in these programs.”
Eight-five percent of employers were families with youth and adult training opportunities, but just 67% had trained a youth employee compared to 73% for adults. Smaller employers were less likely to have attempted either type of work-based learning.
And while liability concerns and logistics for youth played a factor, especially for those under the age of 18, the top barrier to participation was staff capacity.
“Staff availability to manage trainees was the only listed barrier selected by more than half of respondents,” according to the accompanying report, with 56% of employers opting for that survey choice.
Staff workload ranked higher than legal or liability issues, compliance concerns, financial burden and buy-in.
For those that could support such work-based learning, most employers reported a capacity to serve between one to five students or trainees per year, regardless of their industry or company size. Only very large employers, with over 1,000 employees, reported being able to host more than 11 such workers.
Indiana’s demand for apprenticeship is rising after education officials approved a massive high school diploma redesign last year. The new graduation plan includes more personalized learning pathways and experiences, including taking college courses while in high school and work-based learning opportunities and apprenticeships.
More report details
Widening their talent pipelines was also a key concern for employers, with most saying that identifying workers was a “moderate challenge.” One-quarter said it was a “major challenge.”
Though smaller companies selected finances as a challenge more than large employers, over half of all respondents selected wage subsidies, direct grants or reimbursements as “the most impactful” to removing barriers. For adults, employers estimated they would need an incentive between $1,000 and $5,000 per trainee — compared to $500-$2,499 for youth. Construction industries estimated needing more costs offset when compared to educational or health care industries.
Construction companies were also more likely to feel like their share of costs for such employees should be less than half, with the state helping to subsidize that education. At the other end, utilities and health care or social assistance employers said employers should cover most of the costs.
With fewer barriers, 80% of employers said they would participate more in work-based learning opportunities for both student and adult learners.
The 26-page report concluded with eight policy considerations as stakeholders consider work-based learning opportunities — and hurdles.
Policy options include:
- Targeting funding and technical assistance for small and mid-sized businesses
- Creating or expanding intermediary organizations
- Identifying training models such as remote or project-based learning and job shadowing
- Establishing incentive programs based on industry and organization size
- Investing in employer talent development programming
- Encouraging employers to review legal and compliance policies specifically for youth work-based learning
- Setting realistic benchmarks for employer participation
- Leveraging local and regional chambers, economic development initiatives and workforce organizations to support talent development
“We are committed to contributing to the conversation around workforce and education policy by providing nonpartisan research that policy makers and community leaders can use while making critical decisions that impact Hoosier learners and businesses,” Wells said.
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