Hamilton County grants initial funding for cross-community career center

The Hamilton County Council took a first step toward establishing a cross-community career center Wednesday by allocating $425,000 to support the program’s first three years.

The Hamilton County Economic Development Corp. will receive the funding and is expected to act as a clearinghouse for the newly proposed Hamilton County Center for Career Achievement. The decentralized career center’s development team of local educators and workforce leaders plan to leverage existing facilities at area schools in an effort to keep students and the money they spend on their career and technical educations in Hamilton County.

If all goes as planned, the program is slated to begin in the 2023 school year and will be self-sustaining within two years.

“This is an exciting time for the students in Hamilton County who will soon have access to new career considerations,” Hamilton County Councilman Steve Nation said in a written statement.

The Hamilton County Center for Career Achievement’s end goal is to expand school offerings, provide pathways to diverse opportunities, help meet the workforce needs of local employers and to offer a local option to students attending out-of-county centers, such as the J Everett Light Career Center in Marion County.

Currently, 2% of Hamilton County students participate in career and technical education courses. The Hamilton County Center for Career Achievement’s premise wagers that bringing those programs closer to home will increase participation.

“We have already seen this happen at Hamilton Heights,” Hamilton Heights Superintendent Derek Arrowood said in a statement. “Three years ago, we started our own construction trades program with seven students. This fall, we have 130 students enrolled in the same program.  If we can offer these programs locally, we can dramatically increase the opportunities for our students locally.”

The council’s initial funding will be used to hire an executive director who will coordinate research and development, logistics and alignment across county school districts. Part of the director’s responsibilities will be to build on those relationships and create a five-year plan with community stakeholders to detail the opportunities currently available for high school career and technical education.

“Economic development is the lifeblood of our communities,” Hamilton County Council Member Ken Alexander said in a statement. “And with the growth of the county and increased need for a skilled workforce to support our local companies, this cross-community model will allow our schools to partner with the business community and Ivy Tech to best support the needs of each community and the county as a whole.”