INDIANAPOLIS — Today, August 31, 2022, Mayor Joe Hogsett visited WorkOne Indy, Marion County’s full-service American Job Center for one-stop career service support. During the visit, Mayor Hogsett toured the WorkOne Indy facility and discussed strategies for re-engaging workers in Indy’s tight labor market with WorkOne and EmployIndy staff. The event took place during Wednesdays @ WorkOne, a weekly hiring event featuring Marion County employers.

“EmployIndy and WorkOne Indy have been tremendous resources for employees and employers alike, especially during the pandemic and its aftermath,” said Mayor Hogsett. “With Wednesdays @ WorkOne, both have a regular opportunity to network and find that perfect employee/employer match. The kinds of relationships built at WorkOne Indy will be critical to securing a strong economic future for our residents and our community.”

So far in 2022, over 85,000 Marion County residents have received job training, job readiness, and job search support at WorkOne Indy via in-person and virtual career workshops, hiring events, one-on-ones with career navigators, and more. Through Wednesdays @ WorkOne hiring events alone, local employers have conducted over 1,400 interviews and hired 663 new workers in 2022. 

Angela Carr Klitzsch, EmployIndy president and CEO, led the tour while highlighting how EmployIndy, who oversees WorkOne Indy, has successfully re-engaged workers and assisted local employers with meeting their demand for entry-level to middle-skill workers, post-pandemic. “Our team at WorkOne Indy has been doing an incredible job of making a space for job seekers to build skills and use those new skills as they get connected to hiring employers. And through Wednesdays @ WorkOne, job seekers have weekly opportunities to meet employers who represent a wide range of industries such as finance, healthcare, IT, logistics, manufacturing, nonprofit, and more,” said Klitzsch.

The impacts of COVID-19 on the workforce have created challenges for employers to hire adequate numbers of skilled workers. Even though Marion County’s current unemployment rate is below pre-pandemic levels, the number of unique job postings continues to increase. WorkOne Indy and EmployIndy are working to address the mismatch between the number of available workers and the demand for workers in organizations like LiUNA Local 120, American Senior Communities, and RATP Dev.

LiUNA Local 120, which currently represents 2,100 members in the construction industry within the Indianapolis area, has taken advantage of WorkOne Indy’s services for employers. Through Wednesdays @ WorkOne and their own distinct events at WorkOne Indy, LiUNA Local 120 has hired over 125 new workers this calendar year. “WorkOne Indy has been a great resource for helping us connect with residents who are looking for a way to learn more about the construction industry,” said Marty Corpuz, field representative at LiUNA. “Through their hiring events, we're receiving a lot of applications and that's allowing us to move more workers towards our apprenticeship program and an eventual career in construction.”

In addition to the work being done at WorkOne Indy, EmployIndy has various talent solutions to assist employers with customized talent attraction, training, and retention strategies. The Good Wages Initiative, Rapid Re-Employment Response, Modern Apprenticeship, and Talent Bound are just a few of the EmployIndy initiatives to build talent pipelines at an earlier stage, connect employers to talent, and provide robust solutions for meeting workforce needs.

“WorkOne Indy provides over 20 free workshops every week and has career navigators onsite daily to provide individualized assistance. In addition, WorkOne Indy offers the public access to computers, printers, and free wi-fi for their own devices,” said Penny Dunning, vice president of Career Services at EmployIndy.

WorkOne Indy’s full-service location at 4410 Shadeland Ave in Indianapolis is open to the public Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Job seekers are encouraged to view available resources and upcoming workshop details by visiting workoneindy.com. Employers looking to get connected to a pipeline of talent can learn more by visiting employindy.org or reaching out to the Business Partnerships team by emailing businesspartnerships@nullemployindy.org.