President Obama wants to expand manufacturing across the company.
He spoke about his advanced manufacturing initiative during Tuesday's State of the Union address.
He says it'll and refine the industry as more 'high-tech.'
In Northeast Indiana, business leaders say we're ahead of the curve.
"Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation. How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with the skills they need to get those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?" President Obama says.
His initiative calls for tax breaks an easier road to company expansion.
Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce President Mike Landram says it's already happening here.
"We've recognized the importance of advanced manufacturing many years ago, and took some intentional steps on our regional part to assist that industry," Landram says.
Allen County Commissioner Therese Brown says the county is working with Fort Wayne and surrounding counties to enhance the regional business climate.
"So I think it's very exciting, whether it was during the presidential race or this point in time, that we need to be thinking about the new widgets and really get ourselves keyed back up rather than living in the past, really looking towards the future," Brown says.
Brown says the sector has changed drastically in the past fifteen years.
Manufacturers locally already collaborate with the department of defense and energy.
"There are 180 companies that are in one way or another tied into the department of defense. And they do work across traditional lines," IPFW Community Research Institute Director John Stafford says.
The next part of the president's plan- modernizing the work force with higher-tech skills.
Labor boards anticipated this years ago.
One expert says thousands of local workers are ready for higher-tech jobs.
Kathleen Randolph says local workers are already developing high-tech skills.
"We've been doing this- we have a jump on the president's initiative. We've been doing this for three of four years here in this region," Randolph says.
WorkOne Northeast trains new and existing workers.
Randolph says in 36 months, 28,000 people enrolled in advanced training.
She supports President Obama's initiative.
"He made a statement at one point about 500 credentials for advanced manufacturing training, and we had already produced thousands. And so I instantly contacted the Department of Labor to let them know we were already on track," Randolph says.
She says 92 percent of advanced employees have already been placed in high-tech jobs.
"It's a whole different workforce that the manufacturing segment needs today. We're no longer manually stamping out manufacturing parts," Landram says.
Randolph says a skills gap still exists, so they're looking to local universities, like IPFW, to offer degrees in advanced manufacturing.
He spoke about his advanced manufacturing initiative during Tuesday's State of the Union address.
He says it'll and refine the industry as more 'high-tech.'
In Northeast Indiana, business leaders say we're ahead of the curve.
"Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation. How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with the skills they need to get those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?" President Obama says.
His initiative calls for tax breaks an easier road to company expansion.
Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce President Mike Landram says it's already happening here.
"We've recognized the importance of advanced manufacturing many years ago, and took some intentional steps on our regional part to assist that industry," Landram says.
Allen County Commissioner Therese Brown says the county is working with Fort Wayne and surrounding counties to enhance the regional business climate.
"So I think it's very exciting, whether it was during the presidential race or this point in time, that we need to be thinking about the new widgets and really get ourselves keyed back up rather than living in the past, really looking towards the future," Brown says.
Brown says the sector has changed drastically in the past fifteen years.
Manufacturers locally already collaborate with the department of defense and energy.
"There are 180 companies that are in one way or another tied into the department of defense. And they do work across traditional lines," IPFW Community Research Institute Director John Stafford says.
The next part of the president's plan- modernizing the work force with higher-tech skills.
Labor boards anticipated this years ago.
One expert says thousands of local workers are ready for higher-tech jobs.
Kathleen Randolph says local workers are already developing high-tech skills.
"We've been doing this- we have a jump on the president's initiative. We've been doing this for three of four years here in this region," Randolph says.
WorkOne Northeast trains new and existing workers.
Randolph says in 36 months, 28,000 people enrolled in advanced training.
She supports President Obama's initiative.
"He made a statement at one point about 500 credentials for advanced manufacturing training, and we had already produced thousands. And so I instantly contacted the Department of Labor to let them know we were already on track," Randolph says.
She says 92 percent of advanced employees have already been placed in high-tech jobs.
"It's a whole different workforce that the manufacturing segment needs today. We're no longer manually stamping out manufacturing parts," Landram says.
Randolph says a skills gap still exists, so they're looking to local universities, like IPFW, to offer degrees in advanced manufacturing.
