News

Northeast Indiana has a talent shortage. Regional employers are constantly searching for skilled workers to fill critical jobs so they can grow, or even just maintain, their operations.

At the same time as we confront the challenges that come along with an unemployment rate hovering around 3 percent for the region, we have learned some facts about the population of military service members and families nationwide.

Between 100,000-200,000 service members exit the military each year. Historic trends show that about 33 percent of these service members will stay in the community surrounding the base where they were stationed, and another 33 percent will return to their hometowns. This leaves the final 33 percent who are willing to relocate for the right opportunity.

What does this mean for Northeast Indiana? It means a potential pool of over 25,000 veterans are looking for an opportunity to put their skills to work. Many veterans bring families and spouses who are looking for a welcoming community to call home.

The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership created Hoosier Home Base as a digital, military-friendly front door to Northeast Indiana, showcasing job opportunities and quality of life in the region. We will begin promoting this site to veterans immediately and will seek out new avenues to reach service members directly. We encourage business leaders to post their jobs for free on the Northeast Indiana Jobs Portal to ensure veterans – and all job seekers – can view all available jobs in the region on one comprehensive site.

Hoosier Home Base would not be a reality without the partnership and guidance of many individuals and organizations, including the Northeast Indiana Base Community Council, Greater Fort Wayne Inc., Indiana Economic Development Association Foundation and the Regional Opportunities Council.

We appreciate the opportunity to engage with many veterans through this process, including former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Sean Ryan, currently Purdue University’s Director of the Office of Engagement, Fort Wayne.

When asked about life in Northeast Indiana after separating from military service, Sean notes, "I can honestly say that this has been a great place to raise my two girls. Northeast Indiana has plenty of family-friendly activities, a reasonable cost of living, good schools, plenty of civic groups and churches to choose from, and most importantly, ample job opportunities for me and my wife."

About the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership

The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s mission is to build, market and sell Northeast Indiana to increase business investment. Founded in 2006, the public-private partnership strives to build a globally competitive region. The Partnership’s Vision 2030 framework supports collaborative regional efforts to increase per capita income, population growth and educational attainment by focusing on business attraction, talent attraction and talent development. The Partnership represents 11 member counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties. For more information, visit www.neindiana.com.
 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kate Virag
Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Communications
Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
260.414.2431
kate@NEIndiana.com