Through the formation of a new collaborative, The International Center will make available to Northern Indiana businesses, including CPEG and their corporate partners, several programs and services to help those businesses achieve objectives related to international talent. Specifically, The International Center will provide:

• Destination Services – Working directly with a relocation group or an expatriate employee’s HR department, The Center will tailor programs to address critical issues and concerns at each juncture of their relations – before departure, through the search for a new place to live and “settling in” services. In addition, a course may be offered for the accompanying spouse or domestic partner and their family to learn how to navigate daily life in their new community.

• Global Competency Training – Providing customized training programs for corporate clients, service providers, educational institutions and community organizations. Clients may be arriving to live and work in the U.S., leaving to take a work assignment overseas, working in the virtual global environment or addressing diversity issues in their own Indiana workplace.

• Protocol Services – Providing advice and counsel to assist clients in using internationally recognized procedures to transform an unfamiliar environment into a comfortable climate in which to conduct business. Services range from creating itineraries and production schedules, to coordinating diplomatic visits to and from Indiana at various levels, to arranging official meetings for visiting delegations to managing international events and providing flag displays.

This partnership stems from a talent and workforce review conducted by a coalition of Northern Indiana workforce and economic development organizations. The review’s findings and recommendations were recently released in a report titled Talent Roadmap for Northern Indiana.

“We are a welcoming community, and the recruitment of international professionals is a natural element of the region long-term talent attraction and retention strategy,” stated Shawn E. Peterson, CPEG president and chief executive officer. “To improve our competitiveness, the Talent Roadmap recommended offering additional assistance to international recruits and their families as they assimilate into the community and to the businesses that need to train co-workers regarding cultural differences.”

“We are thrilled to partner with The International Center, as it is seen as a model across the United States for providing these very services,” said Peterson. “Over the years they have provided services to global giants like Eli Lilly and Dow AgroSciences, both headquartered in Indiana, and we are pleased to introduce The Center and its program staff to our members and other businesses in the Northern Indiana region to assist them in much the same way with their international talent needs.”

Diane Thomas, President and CEO of The International Center, sees this move as an embodiment of the organization’s growth strategy.

“We embarked on a path two years ago, at the urging of then-Governor Mitch Daniels, to extend our reach statewide and to make our programs and services available to businesses, governments, educational institutions and other organizations beyond central Indiana with international needs or an international growth strategy. We have strategically pursued such a growth plan, and this new collaboration with CPEG is one that can be a win-win proposition virtually from Day One – for CPEG, for The International Center, and most importantly, for businesses in the Northern Indiana region and their ability to attract and retain top international talent.”

The International Center has added Janine Felder-Kahn, based in South Bend, as a member of its Destination Services team where she will be available, beginning immediately, to assist businesses in Elkhart, Kosciusko, St. Joseph and Marshall Counties, as well as neighboring areas, as they recruit and relocate international employees. The Center’s existing staff will support Janine in her efforts and be available for customized training and protocol services as well.

“We are optimistic that we can add considerable value to the efforts of CPEG and their regional business partners and are eager to make as meaningful a contribution to advancing the global agenda of businesses in northern Indiana as we have been able to do for our long-standing business partners in Central Indiana”, said Thomas.

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The report comes five months after a coalition of regional stakeholders met and launched a talent and workforce review. Members of the coalition included the Corporate Partnership for Economic Growth, WorkOne Northern Indiana, the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County, Fulton Economic Development Organization, Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation, Marshall County Economic Development Corporation and the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce.

“We are pleased with the work done by Thomas P. Miller & Associates in creating the Talent Roadmap for Northern Indiana. The Roadmap is forwarding looking, taking into account both regional best practices and successful national models for workforce development and talent recruitment,” said CPEG President and CEO Shawn Peterson.

To develop the Roadmap and subsequent recommendations, Thomas P. Miller & Associates (TPMA) conducted interviews with local businesses, education providers and workforce professionals to learn about the programs and initiatives that are already in place in the region. The firm also drew from its extensive experience working with communities around the country on workforce development projects to provide examples of national programs that could be implemented in Northern Indiana.

“Northern Indiana is not alone in its pursuit of talent,” explains Jessica Borza, Vice President of Workforce Strategies for TPMA. “Communities across the country, specifically the Midwest, are looking at their talent pipeline and challenging businesses, education, economic development and workforce development to work together and take actionable steps that deliver results.”

“The recommendations in the Roadmap are quite comprehensive,” said Peterson. “In broad categories these recommendations are: common regional assessment and credentials; professional recruitment; local promotion & recruitment efforts; and STEM, project based learning and CTE. From these categories, the Roadmap looks at specific programs, tools and actions our region can take to enhance, build and sustain a competitive workforce.”

The report’s recommendations range from short-term efforts expanding current programs such as WorkOne’s Jobs for America’s Graduates – a program to increase high school graduation rates, to creating new initiatives targeted at recruitment efforts to fill future in-demand positions.

“With such a wide range of recommendations, we look forward to working with our economic development and community partners to prioritize and determine actionable next steps for our community,” shared Peterson.

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