Partnering to educate: Jackson County program marks first decade.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: REGIONAL REPORT: SOUTH CENTRAL

ON ONE SIDE: BUSINESS and industry. On the other side: Education.

"They were not communicating. Education didn't know some of the skill requirements business and industry needed, and business and industry had no presence in the schools," says Jackie Hill, coordinator of the Jackson County Workforce Partnership Program.

That was 1998. Nearly a decade later, the two groups are not only talking, they're meeting regularly and participating in mutually beneficial programs. Teacher are taking part in exploration days and internships at industries, students are taking advantage of job shadow opportunities, and business people are frequent guests at the community's high schools, conducting mock job interviews with students and giving presentations.

Education and business first joined forces when the Jackson County Industrial Development Corp., charged with recruiting businesses and industries, brought the five largest employers and four school superintendents together. "The No. 1 question of industries thinking of coming in was, 'How's your workforce?'" Hills says. "So they met to discuss issues we should focus on, and discovered that business and education were not communicating." As a result, the Workforce Partnership Program was created and staffed by a coordinator, and other companies brought into the fold.

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Today, 16 employers in the county and the City of Seymour, which employ a combined workforce of about 7,000, are contributing members. "And they're not just industries. Some are in life sciences," says Hill, who took over as coordinator in 2001.

Among the supporting companies are Aisin USA Manufacturing Co., Cerro Wire & Cable Co., Cummins, Excel Manufacturing, R.R. Donnelley & Sons. Co., Schwarz Pharma and Valeo Sylvania.

Based on the company's size, members make annual contributions to fund the program's $70,000 budget. The Partnership Program also works closely with the chamber's Education Committee and Education Task Force.

Today, it's "constant communication" between the two groups, Hill says. "We have quarterly roundtable meetings that involve the industries' human resources folks and the superintendents, principals and guidance counselors from the high schools." All the local public school corporations participate--Brownstown Central Community Schools, Crothersville Community Schools, Medora Community Schools and Seymour Community Schools, as well as Trinity Lutheran High School.

"The big issue at the beginning...