About This Campaign

What is Dream It Do It? 

Indiana’s Region 9 Workforce Board, in partnership with educators, businesses, government, and economic development officials throughout a 10-county area have launched Dream It. Do It.- the first such initiative in Indiana and the fifth in the United States.

Our agenda? Simple. To help young people identify their passion, then give them tools to find a great career in manufacturing.

The Southeast Indiana Dream It. Do It. initiative is designed to:

• Create broad awareness about manufacturing careers
• Redefine the image of manufacturing
• Showcase the industry’s wide range of career opportunities
• Demonstrate how young people and adults can secure great advanced manufacturing jobs through training and education
• Bring together our region’s education and workforce system
  • 23 Public High Schools
  • 4 Ivy Tech Community College Sites
  • 3 Four-Year Master Degree Sites (IUPUC, Purdue, Hanover)
  • 10 Learning Centers
  • 6 WorkOne Sites
  • 3 Career Technical Education Districts

Why are we participating in the DIDI Campaign?

The Region 9 Workforce Board completed a nine month study of occupational and skills shortages in a 10-county area (Bartholomew, Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland).

The results of the study revealed that there was a widening skills gap between the current workforce and skills needed for future Advanced Manufacturing occupations. There was also a labor shortage in specific manufacturing occupations: Supervisor, Industrial Engineer, Maintenance, Machine Trades, Computer Numerical Controlled Lathe Operator, and Welder. The shortage totaled approximately 1600 workers.

In June 2006, Honda announced a decision to build a new automobile assembly plant in Greensburg that would create 2000 new jobs by 2010. It was estimated that an additional 600 jobs would be required by the supply chain in SE IN. Over the next several months, Honda received over 33,000 applications from workers seeking employment to fill the newly created jobs.

Shortly after the Honda announcement, in October 2006, Cummins Inc. announced they were starting up a new Light Duty Diesel Engine Plant in Columbus that would create an additional 600 new jobs by 2010.

During the same time period, local manufacturers in Bartholomew County announced expansion plans that would create an estimated 800 additional jobs.

In addition to new jobs being created, discussions with Cummins indicated that nearly 1,000 employees could be retiring within the next 3 to 5 years.

With the labor shortage reported in the nine month study conducted by the Region 9 Workforce Board, the new plant announcements, and potential employee retirements, the demand to fill approximately 6,600 jobs became both a significant opportunity and a challenge given the working population level is predicted to be relatively flat during the next several years.

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