By Heather Lusk
The Boone Co. EDC recently released highlights from a labor study intended to identify who is working in Boone Co., what jobs are in high demand and what skills are needed for those positions.
“As we start to formulate some workforce development solutions, we want to know we’re hitting our targets or on the right track,” said Molly Whitehead, executive director of the Boone Co. Economic Development Corp.
The study will help the EDC determine the industries they want to bring to Boone Co., those that will help existing businesses and the industries that would be beneficial to the county.
Among categories being considered are agri-business, the financial industry and IT (information technology) companies.
“We’ve seen an IT growth in Zionsville,” she said.
Whitehead said most of the data was not very surprising.
“It validated what we already knew,” she said, recognizing a lot of residents leave Boone Co. for jobs every day.
“We shift 80 percent (of jobs) outside of our borders,” Whitehead said. “How can we convince them to find a job closer to home, or how can we attract those companies that would employ them closer to home?”
Approximately 32,000 people are employed in Boone Co., with just 5,978 people both living and working there.
Next for the EDC is to look more closely at industries to recruit to the county and then to ensure workforce development is prepared for any new businesses.
“If we’re trying to attract a certain type of company or fill a certain type of void for our existing businesses, we need to make sure our workforce is adequately prepared for that,” Whitehead said, whether it’s through local schools or advanced education.
Thomas P. Miller & Associates conducted the analysis for the Boone Co. EDC. The same study was last conducted in 2013 and is expected to be updated every few years.
