orthern Indiana workforce officials have joined Gov. Mitch Daniels in urging young people to take advantage of career oppor-
tunities that will be spawned as Indiana enters the dawn of unprecedented building activity spurred by the $3.8-billion tollroad deal.

"Indiana is entering a building boom.  It's a unique chance for young people, and especially minority youngsters, to get a good-paying job and a strong start in life," the governor said Oct. 5, 2006, at WorkOne of St. Joseph County in South Bend.  "We're going to experience record opportunities, so we want everyone to know about these jobs and that the state can help them get the skills needed to obtain one," Daniels added.

WorkOne will coordinate the participation of individuals interested in the pre-apprenticeship construction training program, called "Major Opportunities."  Under current fiscal year funding of $1.6 million, WorkOne facilities statewide expect to provide 16 weeks of training to 640 people during the first year of the program.  The state plans to make available an additional $350,000 to training providers, such as Ivy Tech Community College, as incentives for high rates of program completion as well as placement and retention of individuals in jobs.

"These are great opportunities for people who like to use their hands, and use their minds, to build things," said Juan Manigault, president and CEO of Work-
force Development Group, Inc., South Bend, which operates the WorkOne centers in Northern Indiana.  Under Major Opportunities, participants will receive both classroom instruction as well as on-the-job training experience with mentors to show them the ropes.  Program graduates will have access to job-placement assistance in union or merit construction apprenticeship programs, or both, as well as other career paths.

The program aims to encourage Hoosiers of African American and Hispanic descent to join the effort as the first step toward a construction job that pays well. Construction industry statistics highlight an ongoing under-representation of minority individuals at road building and other construction job sites:  African Americans are the incumbents in just four percent of construction jobs, while Hispanic Americans hold eight percent of such jobs.  Yet African Americans comprise 11.4 percent of the U.S. labor force and Hispanic Americans represent 13.7 percent of the national workforce, based on numbers for October 2006 from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

                    Individuals May Apply Online
Individuals interested in joining the Major Opportunities program will need to have adequate skills in important areas such as reading, algebra, critical thinking, and problem solving, Manigault said.  A WorkOne case manager will discuss these necessary skills with an applicant to Major Opportunities, and WorkOne uses a skill-assessment program called WorkKeys to determine where an individual stands concerning key skills for the construction trades.  WorkOne has posted an online application to the Major Opportunities program, which is accessible at ONLINE APPLICATION.