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The Indiana Daily Student

Indiana selected to participate in policy conference

Indiana was recently selected to participate in the National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices  policy academy.

Thirteen other states were also selected to participate in the program, which will focus on educating the public on joining the ?workforce.

The program will provide the state with grants and opportunities from the NGA to interact with state colleagues and national experts as well as technical assistance from the NGA’s Center for Best Practices.

The policy academy is “aimed at aligning education and workforce training systems to meet the state’s economic needs,” according to IN.gov.

Other goals include merging partnerships between education and industry, integrating and using educational resources to track and measure the program’s success and “articulating and implementing a strong vision connecting the education and training systems with the needs of the economy,” according to IN.gov .

“We were the first state in the country to create a specific agency to jointly ?coordinate our education and workforce efforts a year ago, and the interest from other states has been high in understanding our models and initial work plans,” Gov. Mike Pence  said in a ?statement.

The NGA Center for Best Practices works closely with the state’s Center for Education and Career Innovation department.

“The leaders of CECI have been working with the NGA and its staff over the past year, participating in workshops, leading policy discussions and moderating panels on education and workforce issues,” Lu Ann Baker , director of external relations for CECI , said in an email.

CECI will lead the policy academy and its discussions, she said.

The academy is intended to share best practices and ideas from across Indiana and the nation.

“Ultimately, the academy’s inputs can serve to potentially influence and guide Indiana’s future planning and coordinated delivery of services in career education, training and post-secondary education,” Baker said.

Baker said helping people find a career that best suits their talents, interests and abilities will hopefully contribute to a more successful economy in the state.

“If we can help students make more informed decisions in their selection of careers, education and training, then we increase the possibility of greater career satisfaction, less time — and dollars — wasted on classes that didn’t meet their personal goals, and hopefully a more successful chosen career path,” Baker said.

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