Three Regional Partners Join Don Wood Foundation to Increase Employer Engagement for Student Career Options

Today, the Don Wood Foundation, Greater Fort Wayne, Inc., Northeast Indiana Works, and OrthoWorx announced mutual support for a unified framework that engages regional stakeholders to help fill the workforce funnel. The framework, Career 360°, is designed to increase regional student career exploration and employer engagement.

“The problem we are trying to solve is two-fold: one is basic economics, and the other has to do with elevating the value of helping youth discover what they love to do,” said Laura Macknick, president and CEO, Don Wood Foundation. “We have a growing number of students and a shortage of participating employers. Programs types listed in the Career 360° framework encourage employers to participate in a way that meets them where they are and allows them to continue moving forward as they gain familiarity with the process and student learners.”

Macknick said that starting career exploration gently and earlier across K-12 will help students gain a broader understanding of career possibilities over time.
“Many great organizations are doing good work in exploration and engagement, but awareness of these programs is often minimal and not understood regionally,” said Edmond O’Neal III, president and CEO, Northeast Indiana Works.

“The hands-on day camps for middle-schoolers that we help facilitate through the Manufacturing Begins with Me career awareness initiative not only provide young people with a career option to consider, they encourage collaboration with multiple strategic partners that creates a synergy of purpose and support. We simply must work together to build talent pipelines that will ensure a robust, sustained regional economy and workforce.”

By identifying the scope of existing programs, Career 360° can expand and be made available to counties interested in replicating a successful program. The partner organizations agree that more conversations and guidance are needed to help employers participate in building the region’s workforce funnel.

“Collaboration is essential to building a strong workforce pipeline. With the support of the Don Woods Foundation, initiatives like Career 360° and MadeByMe connect young people to career pathways that drive economic growth in Allen County and northeast Indiana," said John Urbahns, President and CEO of Greater Fort Wayne Inc.

"By sharing best practices and strengthening partnerships with organizations like the Don Wood Foundation, Northeast Indiana Works, and OrthoWorx, we can expand opportunities and ensure more learners gain the skills and experiences needed for success.”

The Career 360° menu for employers includes the following opportunities: employer talks, employer tours, mentorship meetings, one-to-one prep, job shadowing, real-world projects, and focused community events. Each option requires greater employer engagement and will likely evolve as more organizations get involved.

"Our organization is dedicated to expanding the MedTech community to maintain Warsaw’s status as the orthopedic capital of the world. We believe it's never too early to inspire children about their futures,” said Bob Vitoux, president and CEO of OrthoWorx. “We think that employers would greatly benefit from becoming more involved in career exploration and engagement programs for local students.

We support the Career 360 framework and OrthoWorx’s recently launched Don Wood Foundation funded iXplore virtual reality jobs platform and see these as effective tools for this purpose. Having a strong talent pipeline is critically important to our employers, especially with today’s tight labor market, so we strongly support getting youth excited about careers in the industry as early as possible," Vitoux said.

Benefits of shared a framework through Career 360° include:

• Allows flexibility for a variety of workplaces;
• Enables businesses to select and scale student touchpoint options to fit their capacity;
• Simplifies student exploration opportunities for business; and
• Invests in young people and builds talent within the community, strengthening the region.

For more information regarding Career 360°, contact Patrick Buesching at pbuesching@donwoodfoundation.org. Updates to the framework will be made as DWF and partners are notified of student career exploration efforts in the 12-county region, including connections between schools and employers.

About Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
Greater Fort Wayne Inc. (GFW Inc.) serves as the lead economic development organization for Allen County, Indiana, and the chamber of commerce for Fort Wayne. Dedicated to building a nationally recognized economy, GFW Inc. works to support local businesses, attract new investment, and enhance the community’s quality of place. Through strategic economic development, advocacy, leadership programs, and business resources, GFW Inc. drives economic prosperity, strengthens talent retention, and cultivates sustainable community growth. Learn more at gfwinc.com.

About Northeast Indiana Works
Northeast Indiana Works, the region’s nonprofit workforce development organization, provides public and private financial and employment resources for education and skills training to meet the needs of regional industries. Each year, we serve more than 20,000 individuals and more than 1,700 employers in Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Grant, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties. NEINW oversees northeast Indiana’s 11 WorkOne Northeast career centers; oversees two youth-oriented career development programs; funds and manages employer-focused training programs to enhance the skills of existing workers; and helps facilitate community-based career awareness and pathway initiatives.

About OrthoWorx
OrthoWorx is an initiative formed in 2009 in the Orthopedic Capital of the World® through initial funding from Lilly Endowment Inc, to fill a critical void in the industry, serving as a connector for industry, education, and our community, leveraging resources to drive positive change. OrthoWorx was specifically designed to make our region the best place for orthopedic industry talent to grow and thrive. OrthoWorx is a catalyst, deepening connections among the various interrelated moving parts of our unique orthopedic industry ecosystem. This is accomplished through our work and initiatives to equip the next generation, enrich our community, and accelerate industry.

About the Don Wood Foundation
The Don Wood Foundation is a private foundation, established in 2018 by Don Wood, founder of 80/20, Inc., that serves and supports innovators, leaders, collaborators, and skilled workers with the potential to create and sustain opportunities in manufacturing. The Foundation partners with nonprofits and educational institutions to provide sustained investment that supports the development of a diverse workforce through exposure, education, and training to create strong communities rooted in the advancement of manufacturing. Follow Don Wood Foundation on Facebook and LinkedIn.