This press release was published by the City of Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS – Today, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett joined Fishers Mayor and Vice-Chair of the Central Indiana Council of Elected Officials Scott Fadness to announce a coordinated, unified regional effort to engage Amazon and bring the electronic commerce and cloud computing company’s second headquarters to Central Indiana. In the coming weeks, Mayor Hogsett and Mayor Fadness plan to build a team of local tech, business, and community leaders to develop a comprehensive proposal that highlights Central Indiana’s assets and complements Amazon’s existing presence in Indiana, which currently employs 9,000 in 5 statewide centers.

“This is an incredible opportunity for Central Indiana to come together to highlight our region’s incredible assets and share with national stakeholders what makes Indianapolis a growing hub for technology,” said Mayor Hogsett. “In the coming days, we will convene the best minds from our local tech sector, as well as key business and community leaders, to build on Amazon’s already strong presence in Central Indiana and share the unique story of what Indianapolis has to offer with the world.”

Hogsett and Fadness pointed to Central Indiana’s strong talent pipeline, bolstered by exemplary institutes for higher education; a walkable, livable downtown; and a culture of innovation that has received national recognition from tech leaders, as assets for Amazon.

Over the last decade, Central Indiana has emerged as a leader in innovation and technology for the Midwest. In 2016 alone, Indianapolis and the Central Indiana tech community received national accolades as one of the country’s top tech hubs, with sizeable growth in job creation and a thriving community of women in tech. Currently, over 35,000 people in Marion County are employed in information technology – one of the region’s fastest-growing industries.

Last week’s announcement by Amazon projected the creation of a secondary headquarters would result in 50,000 new jobs with an average compensation exceeding $100,000 per year. Communities across the country have expressed interest in responding to the company’s request for proposals, including Central Indiana.

For More Information:
Taylor Schaffer
317.694.0463
taylor.schaffer@nullindy.gov

Watch the related video on WISH-TV

EmployIndy and Public Allies Indianapolis support Foundation’s mission of creating pathways to opportunity

(Indianapolis, Ind.) EmployIndy and Public Allies Indianapolis announced today that they each have received Opportunity for All grant awards from The Starbucks Foundation.

The Opportunity for All initiative builds on The Starbucks Foundation’s long history of investing in organizations that create job and education opportunities. The Opportunity for All initiative deepens the foundation’s focus on three populations – youth, veterans and military spouses, and refugees.

This year, the foundation is making $1.41 million in Opportunity for All grants to 41 nonprofits in 27 U.S. cities, ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Additionally, Starbucks partners (employees) will engage and volunteer to help those receiving each organization’s services become job-ready and develop skills to continue on the pathway of opportunity. To learn more about the initiative, please visit: https://news.starbucks.com/

“We are proud to extend our partnerships with EmployIndy and Public Allies Indianapolis to support their ongoing efforts to create long-term economic opportunities for youth through job readiness, training and additional educational programs,” said DeShonne Jackson, regional director for Starbucks operations in Indiana. “This work forms a key part of our strategy to invest in organizations that are implementing proven, as well as innovative, solutions to help youth get the skills and training they need to succeed in a rapidly changing global economy. Our Starbucks partners (employees) in Indianapolis look forward to working with EmployIndy and Public Allies Indianapolis to serve even more young people in the community.”

The Starbucks Foundation awarded EmployIndy with $40,000 to fund a variety of youth services. EmployIndy will catalyze a re-engagement center that holistically integrates best practices and promising approaches for serving youth and young adults, ages 16-24, who are disconnected from either education or employment due to significant barriers that preclude labor force participation. This integration is based off of seven key elements: engagement, empowerment, exposure, explore experience, education, employment. The E^7 Essentials Center will operate in and around the 46235 high-priority zip code in Indianapolis at Community Alliance of the Far Eastside, a neighborhood multi-service center.

“This comprehensive model will co-locate participant services and activities that supportively effect all E^7 essential elements,” said Rodney Francis, senior director of Opportunity Youth Services at EmployIndy, “as well as the 14 WIOA youth elements, developing work, life, and leadership skills that ultimately empower meaningful pathways to employment.”

Public Allies Indianapolis received $30,000 from the foundation for program services. Public Allies is a partnership between the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center and Public Allies, a national AmeriCorps program. In Indianapolis, non-profit partner organizations “host” a Public Ally, who fills key roles within the organizations. The Ally serves for ten months, ultimately increasing the organization’s capacity while building the Ally’s leadership skills. More than 80 non-profits have hosted a Public Ally since 2009. Seventy-eight percent of Public Allies graduates stay in Indiana, and 75 percent of graduates are employed by non-profit organizations.

“The financial support from the Starbucks Foundation provides us with greater opportunity to reach populations who face unique challenges in accessing education and employment,” said Vicki Rubio, program director, Public Allies Indianapolis. “We believe ‘everyone leads’ at Public Allies. These funds will help us identify and foster emerging leaders in our community, while increasing the capacity of the non-profits we serve to meet the needs of more youth, veterans and military spouses, and refugees.”

EmployIndy guides the local workforce ecosystem and makes strategic investments to remove barriers to quality employment for underserved and underrepresented residents. As the workforce development board for Marion County, guided by 21 business, civic, education and non-profit community leaders, EmployIndy invests $20 million in public, private and philanthropic funds for both youth and adults annually.

The Indianapolis Resource Center, through facilitation, training and coaching, strengthens the capacity of neighborhood-based organization and neighbors to mobilize existing assets, support grassroots leadership and foster collaboration. INRC was established in 1994 as a private, non-profit organization.

Contact:
Lara Beck, 317-727-0016 (INRC)
Joe Backe, 317-713-7601 (EmployIndy)

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – August 16, 2017 – This morning at the Meadows Excel Center, Angela Carr Klitzsch, EmployIndy president and CEO, spoke alongside Mayor Joe Hogsett, Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Steven Braun, and Michael Huber, president and CEO of the Indy Chamber, to announce EmployIndy’s new strategic plan. The five-year initiative focuses on impacting the quality of life in targeted areas of Marion County, addressing barriers to employment for employers and job seekers, and helping prepare young adults to enter the workforce. After a year-long community-driven strategic planning process led by the Marion County Workforce Development Board, the finalized plan is in place to guide the organization through 2022.

“We are already engaged in actions that directly tie to these strategic goals,” said Angela Carr Klitzsch, “including diversifying our funding, improving our transparency and accountability, and continued responsiveness to workforce needs, such as Carrier and Rexnord.”

These goals stemmed from Mayor Joe Hogsett’s direction in June of last year to target the most disinvested areas of Marion County with meaningful services and focus on those most affected by poverty and unemployment.

“A year ago, I charged EmployIndy with focusing efforts to reach the most underserved populations in our community while working closely with local business leaders to understand their evolving needs – ultimately expanding our city’s potential for growth and success,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett. “With this strategic plan, EmployIndy will plot a course for significant progress toward this vision, outlining actionable steps that not only benefit employers and job seekers, but the entire Indianapolis community.”

By working with the city and local leaders, EmployIndy will be taking active steps towards building a more equitable approach to workforce development.

“I applaud EmployIndy for its innovative and forward-thinking strategic plan. It’s all about reducing barriers for both individuals and employers to meet and exceed demands for a qualified workforce through partnerships and collaboration.” said DWD Commissioner Steven Braun. “The plan’s specific goals align with DWD’s priorities to effectively develop the workforce, advocate for new programs and funding to support development, provide new opportunities through employer engagement, and to bring together businesses, educational institutions, and community and economic development groups in an employer-driven collaborative environment.”

Despite a low unemployment number, data from local sources, such as indyvitals.org, shows that there is a bigger picture. Many residents have fallen out of the labor force and are not actively seeking jobs. In a city that is expecting to see growth in opportunities in the coming years, there is an urgent need to ensure that these residents have the appropriate skills to seek and fill those jobs.

Angela Carr Klitzsch pointed out “the workforce environment around Indy is much different than it was immediately post-recession, and this plan deliberately updates how EmployIndy can take actions to have the most impact for residents.”

This transformation is not something that occurs overnight and it takes the collaboration of many organizations to implement a plan to work with disinvested residents and guide the workforce. Over the next five years, EmployIndy aims to be a hub of influence throughout Marion County, partnering with the city, community organizations, education providers, and local businesses to impact the future of Indianapolis.

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About EmployIndy
EmployIndy guides the local workforce ecosystem and makes strategic investments to remove barriers to quality employment for underserved and underrepresented residents. As the workforce development board for Marion County, guided by 21 business, civic, education and non-profit community leaders, EmployIndy invests $17 million in public, private and philanthropic funds for both youth and adults annually.

For More Information:
Joe Backe
317.713.7601
jbacke@nullemployindy.org