Indiana Grantmakers Alliance
Fall Forums
November 2011
Jessica Fraser
jfraser@incap.org
Senior Policy Analyst
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Indiana’s Forgotten Middle
Skills Jobs
Full report available at: www.incap.org/indianaskills2compete.html.
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What is a Middle Skill Job?
Middle-skill jobs represent the largest share of jobs in
Indiana—some 55 percent—and a substantial share of
future job openings.
Who are Middle Skill Workers?
• Construction Workers
• High-tech Manufacturing Workers
• Nurses
• Health Care Technicians
• Truckers
• Biotech Workers
• Police
• Firefighters
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What is a Middle Skill Job?
Job Title
Education or
Training
Requirement
Projected 2012
Openings
Projected 2018
Openings
Management Analysts
Bachelor's Degree
439
2595
$
39,563.00
Construction Laborers
Moderate On the Job
Training
107
419
$
37,077.00
Boilermakers
Long Term On the
Job Training
21
132
$
60,061.00
Registered Nurses
Associate's Degree
482
2636
$
48,349.00
Heating, Air Conditioning, and
Refrigeration Mechanics and
Installers
Long Term On the
Job Training
88
510
$
38,589.00
Operating Engineer and Other Moderate on-the-Job
Construction Equipment Operators
Training
342
1202
$
52,271.00
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of
Construction Trades and Extraction
Workers
96
584
$
53,194.00
1803
7128
$
38,848.00
64
603
Work Experience
Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor- Moderate On the Job
Trailer
Training
Accountants and Auditors
Bachelor's Degree
2009 Wage
$53,363.00
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What is a Middle Skill
Education or Training?
In short, middle-skill training is more education
than a high school diploma but less than a fouryear degree
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The Demand for Middle Skill
Jobs in Indiana
Share of Indiana Jobs by Skill Level,
2009
25%
Share of Indiana Jobs by Skill Level,
2006-2016
High-Skill Jobs
Low-Skill Jobs
26%
High-Skill Jobs
Low-Skill Jobs
50%
55%
20%
Middle-Skill Jobs
24%
Middle-Skill Jobs
Share of Indiana Jobs by Skill Level, 2009
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Projected Indiana Demand for 30 Middle-Skill
Occupations, 2006-2016
Employment
2006
Net Change
2016
Number
Job Openings
%
Median Earnings
2009
Computers
Support Specialists
8,344
9,161
817
9.80%
3,400
$38,240
Specialists, Other
1,427
1,498
71
5.00%
450
$67,920
Carpenters
34,163
35,424
1,261
3.70%
5,880
$38,120
Electricians
16,656
17,313
657
3.90%
4,950
$51,830
8,301
9,147
846
10.20%
2,330
$34,010
Operating Engineers
10,263
11,044
781
7.60%
2,770
$47,530
Plumbers
12,407
13,460
1,053
8.50%
3,610
$50,160
Dental Hygienists
3,946
4,994
1,048
26.60%
1,800
$65,840
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
1,030
1,228
198
19.20%
340
$61,010
18,840
21,526
2,686
14.30%
7,830
$37,410
Medical Lab Technicians
3,621
4,201
580
16.00%
1,130
$36,910
Radiology Technicians
4,858
5,627
769
15.80%
1,430
$50,290
Respiratory Therapists
2,801
3,508
707
25.20%
1,120
$50,700
Surgical Technologists
2,292
2,909
617
26.90%
1,320
$38,940
Construction
Painters
Healthcare
Licensed Practical Nurses
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Projected Indiana Demand for 30 Middle-Skill
Occupations, 2006-2016
Employment
2006
2016
Net Change
Number
%
Job Openings
Median Earnings
2009
Installation, Maintenance, and
Repair
Aircraft Mechanics
Auto Mechanics
Bus/Truck Mechanics
Heating and AC Installers
Heavy Equipment Mechanics
1,266
15,545
7,719
6,627
2,778
1,464
17,146
8,556
7,289
3,068
198
1,601
837
662
290
15.60%
10.30%
10.80%
10.00%
10.40%
330
4,720
2,520
1,820
830
$57,280
$34,040
$38,140
$40,220
$40,850
Industrial Machinery Mechanics
10,366
10,981
615
5.90%
2,350
$44,760
Transportation
Air Traffic Controllers
Heavy Truck Driver
672
59,452
764
66,052
92
6,600
13.70%
11.10%
270
17,150
$126,550
$37,590
5,023
5,890
867
17.30%
1,440
$28,540
Fire Fighters
Police Officers
5,751
10,679
6,465
11,781
714
1,102
12.40%
10.30%
2,810
3,960
$43,800
$45,530
Other
Civil Engineering Technicians
Claims Adjusters
Legal Secretaries
Machinists
Paralegals
735
3,997
4,330
14,850
3,069
804
4,201
4,775
15,083
3,721
69
204
445
233
652
9.40%
5.10%
10.30%
1.60%
21.20%
210
1,220
1,140
2,530
1,050
$45,690
$58,470
$33,410
$37,170
$36,720
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Public Safety
Emergency Medical Technicians
Indiana’s Middle Skills Gap
Indiana has been experiencing a shortage of middle-skill workers . In 2009,
about 55 percent of all jobs were classified as middle-skill, but only 49
percent of Indiana workers had the education and training required to fill
those positions.
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Indiana’s Middle Skills Gap
Nearly two-thirds of the people who will be part of Indiana’s workforce in
the year 2020, were already working adults in 2005—long past the
traditional high school-to-college (K-12) education pipeline!
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What are We Doing to Close the
Middle Skills Gap?
The Indiana Skills2Compete Coalition
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The Indiana Skills2Compete Coalition
• The Skills2Compete Coalition is generously funded by
the Joyce Foundation located in Chicago, IL.
• It was created to promote effective state strategies for
improving the skills of the state’s workforce through
sector partnerships, pathways, public-business
partnerships, and public policy.
• The Coalition released its policy recommendations in
December of 2010 and is actively working with
members of state government to pass related
legislation and bring further attention to the skills gap
in Indiana.
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The Indiana Skills2Compete Coalition Members
State Senator Dennis Kruse (Co-Chair)
Senator Karen Tallian
Representative Bill Davis
A Democratic Representative, to be determined
The Following Organizations are represented on the Coalition:
• Indiana Labor Institute for
• Indiana Education Roundtable
Training
• REACH, Inc.
• Conexus
• Ready Indiana, Inc.
• Indiana Department of
• Indy Reads
Workforce Development
• Indiana Department of Education
• Central IN Community Action
• Indiana University SPEA
Program
• RecycleForce
• Training, Inc.
• Local Initiatives Support
• Indiana State AFL-CIO
Corporation
• Community Action Program, Inc. • Ivy Tech Community College
• Indiana Chamber of Commerce
Western Indiana
• Indiana Community Action
Association
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The Indiana Skills2Compete Coalition
2010 Policy Platform:
• Encourage the development of additional regional sector or industry
partnerships;
• Form an interagency council on middle-skill credentials;
– Senate Resolution 85 passed during the 2011 Indiana General
Assembly session urged each individual agency involved in issuing
credentials to incorporate a regular assessment of those credentials in
into their state plans or by-laws. The State Workforce Innovation
Council is expected to be the first to formalize this work by amending
their by-laws at its December 2011 meeting.
• Make Lifelong Learning Accounts (LiLAs) available to all Indiana workers;
• Build on existing workforce education initiatives;
• Maximize on-the-job training (OJT) opportunities;
• Create a scholarship or tuition assistance program geared to Adult
workers.
• Continue to explore financing mechanisms to fund supportive services for
non-traditional students.
2011 Policy Priorities will be finalized at the November 10, 2011
meeting.
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What Foundations Can Do:
• Pilot a Lifelong Learning Accounts (LiLAs) program with employers in your
community
• Support Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)
• Support a local organization that administers IDAs
• Partner with a bank and purchase tax credits
• Workforce Contingent Scholarships
• Change an existing scholarship program to focus on high-demand middle
skill jobs in your region.
• Create a scholarship program focused on high-demand middle skill jobs.
• Community Based Training
• Supporting programs with proven success.
• Staff Development
• Upgrading equipment
• Funding Computer Skills Training for low-skill adults
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What Foundations Can Do:
• Community Literacy Groups
– Support existing programs with proven success
– General operating support
– Pilot a literacy program if there isn’t one in your
community
• Sector Partnership Work
– Sector partnerships organize the stakeholders connected
with a specific local or regional industry—multiple firms,
labor groups, education and training providers, and
workforce and education systems to develop workforce
development strategies within the entire industry
– Sector partnerships are active in nearly forty states and the
District of Columbia. Most Sector partnerships have been
organized locally, but some states are organizing state
efforts as well.
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What Foundations Can Do:
• Work with local community college to set up a Gap Tuition
Assistance Fund
– Provides tuition support for students enrolled in non-credit
certifications, which are not eligible for federal financial aid.
– Foundation and College can collectively decide the eligibility
parameters, allowing the foundations to serve the constituencies they
choose.
• Work with local community college to set up a supportive
services assistance fund
– State financial aid cannot be used for expenses such as child care,
transportation, lost wages, etc.
– Working Adults experience a significant need for supportive services
while trying to pursue higher education.
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What Foundations Can Do:
• Join the National Fund for Workforce Solutions by
setting up a Regional Collaborative
– The National Fund is dedicated to preparing jobseekers and
employees for a career, not just a job. The National Fund
brings together local and regional leaders from the private,
public, and nonprofit sectors to spark and drive innovation.
They work hand-in-hand to create practices and systems
that can help employers and employees succeed in a postrecession economy.
– Five Strategies are to:
•
•
•
•
•
Create regional funding collaborative;
Organize workforce partnerships;
Develop strategies for specific industry sectors;
Build career pathways; and
Coordinate local workforce programs.
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What Foundations Can Do:
• Support Research Reports
– The Institute has written several research reports
regarding education and workforce development,
among other topics. Our research is funded by
foundations such as; Lumina Foundation for Education,
the Joyce Foundation, as well as the Indianapolis
Foundation, a CICF affiliate, and Duke Energy
Foundation.
• Support Public Policy
– Skills2Compete Coalition is an example of how public
policy work can be supported through a Foundation.
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?
Questions and Answers
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For More Information
Jessica Fraser
1845 W. 18th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
317-638-4232
jfraser@incap.org
www.incap.org/iiwf.html
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