Overview

County-wide connection to drive bold innovation and big outcomes.

Created by business, education, and community leaders in 2012, Horizon Education Alliance leads a collaborative effort to build an equitable education and training system for those who call Elkhart County home.  Through a set of collaboratively co-designed strategies, the regions partners work together to improve outcomes for people of all ages, making Elkhart County an vibrant community to live and work.  Responding to the combined shifts in demography and industry, the Elkhart Talent Hub is notable for their work to adjust system-level policies and practices to support adult English-language learners and in creating a robust apprenticeship environment mirroring Switzerland.

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People

Brian Wiebe
President & CEO
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Email
Barbara Stith
Director of Adult Pathways
Dr. Aliah Carolan-Silva
Vice President of Research and Integration

Outcomes

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Creating industry-aligned pathways for Spanish speaking Latino adults.

Working with manufacturing businesses, Ivy Tech Community College, and Goshen College, the Elkhart Talent Hub created new pathways that embed high school equivalency and English as a Second Language programs into a postsecondary pathway.  These new pathways result in high-demand Certified Production Assistant or Certified Logistics Technician credentials, providing a fast path for Spanish speaking Latinos to upskill, earn higher wages, and fill employer demand.  In two years, 273 Latinos enrolled the program, 227 of which completed their CPT or CLT credential.

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Braiding and leveraging multiple funding sources to accelerate degree and credential completion.

Through its convening power, HEA works with state agencies, workforce, and higher education partners to leverage multiple funding sources to increase degree and postsecondary credential completion.  By leveraging Skill UP Indiana!, DWD Adult Education Funds, LIFT, and a variety of smaller resource providers, the Talent Hub enabled 1,316 new adult students to enter, persist, and complete credentials aligned to industry demand.

Key Initiatives

Bilingual Industry Certification Programs

HEA and its partners offer three industry-recognized certification programs aligned to local industry needs: Certified Logistics Technician (CLT),  Certified Production Technician (CPT) and Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA).  In partnership with several partners, including Grace College, the Elkhart County Jail, Ivy Tech, Goshen College and area businesses, these programs meet the immediate needs for higher-skilled frontline production workers.

The CPT is offered as a bilingual program for adults with limited English proficiency, creating pathways for Spanish speakers that were previously inaccessible.

Apprenticeship in High-Demand Industry

Described as the Switzerland of the Midwest, the Elkhart Talent Hub collaborates with their education and business partners to develop and launch apprenticeship programs for youth and adults aligned to industry demand.  Focused on advanced manufacturing, health, and new industries, the region has set ambitious goals to have over 70% of students and/or adults participate in a registered apprenticeship program.

Partners

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Goshen College

A private Mennonite liberal arts college founded in 1894, Goshen College has deep ties to Elkhart county’s economic and educational prosperity.   Through their Talent Hub work, Goshen College expanded employer-supported credentialing for Spanish speaking Latino adults in the region.  By embedding high school equivalency programs provided in Spanish onto credential pathways, providing bilingual instructors and coaches, and collaborating with Ivy Tech Community College, Goshen opened postsecondary pathways to the rapidly growing population of Latino adults,

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Ivy Tech Community College
Postsecondary Provider
Benteler Automotive
Employer Partner
Labor Institute for Training
Workforce Partner
Mapletronics
Employer Partner