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Ivy Tech Community College and Conexus Indiana are teaming to support a growing number of advanced manufacturing companies that are integrating more digital technologies into their operations.
The partners are developing new skills-training courses at Ivy Tech to help employers find new talent and skill up existing workers to be more proficient in Internet of Things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.
Conexus CEO Fred Cartwright told Inside INdiana Business the partnership builds on existing efforts, including Ivy Tech’s Smart Manufacturing & Digital Integration certificate and the state’s Manufacturing Readiness Grant program.
“What can we do to be proactive, and work together to make sure that we’re keeping pace with what industry needs?” Conexus CEO Fred Cartwright said. “This is something that we have to do on an ongoing basis to help make this state competitive.”
Ivy Tech said the courses will be delivered by its Ivy+ Career Link service, with programs ranging from one- to two-day workshops to multi-week courses offered in-person, virtually, or in a hybrid option.
“We’ve identified robotic welding, supervisory leadership for Industry 4.0, and intro to artificial intelligence as as some digital skills that are already rising to the top,” said Molly Dodge, senior vice president of workforce and careers at Ivy Tech. “But we’ll have a better understanding from the industry sector as a whole as to which of these trainings hey would consider to be most valuable.”
The pilot of initial courses offered through the partnership is slated to begin this summer. Ivy Tech said it will conduct site visits and issue surveys to ensure the courses are aligned with employer needs.
Dodge said Ivy Tech can provide those training courses to meet industry demands and will soon be able to offer them on demand through a customized learning management system.
A 2022 report from Conexus found that half of all Indiana advanced manufacturing companies plan to adopt technologies that offer a collaborative mix between labor and automation by 2027. The report also showed that finding local talent with the digital skills to support the transition creates a barrier to technology adoption.
Cartwright said working with companies in the industry will be key to the effort.
“It’s so valuable to hear what some of the challenges they have with their current workforce, what has happened coming out of the pandemic, and the level of technology adoption that they’re seeing right now through the end of this decade,” he said. “They know that something needs to happen. We have to have a workforce that’s aligned with those technology changes, and they want to get ahead of it.”
Cartwright talks about the process of engaging manufacturing companies to get their input.
Indiana’s manufacturers account for more than 26% of the state’s total economic output and employ more than 17% of its workforce, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. A study released last September by Conexus and Lightcast found that Indiana’s advanced manufacturing sector is expected to grow by 5-10% over the next few years.
Companies interested in learning more about the digital skills training opportunities can reach out to Ivy Tech Assistant Vice President for Employer Connections here.
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