(INDIANAPOLIS) - Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has re-established a state board overseeing workforce training programs just months after a similar panel was dissolved. Braun signed an executive order creating the State Workforce Development Board, saying it is needed to comply with federal requirements tied to state and federal workforce initiatives. The governor's office said the board will serve as a central coordinating body to align employers, education and training providers, and state agencies around measurable workforce outcomes.
The move comes after the 21-member Governor's Workforce Cabinet was eliminated on July 1. That cabinet was created in 2018 at the request of former Gov. Eric Holcomb. The Workforce Cabinet was removed from state law through the budget bill approved by the General Assembly last year, with its duties transferred to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Braun has not yet named members to the new board or outlined its full makeup. His executive order states that Braun will serve as a member and will appoint others from nominees submitted by Indiana business organizations, trade associations, and labor unions. The board must also include officials responsible for state workforce programs and representatives from local government.
"We will use the Indiana Workforce Development Board to bring together an elite team of job creators and workforce development experts to help create new opportunities and bigger paychecks for Hoosier workers," Braun said in a statement from his office.
The board's revival comes as some Republican lawmakers push to reduce Indiana's list of more than 250 state boards and commissions. As of Friday, no legislation identifying specific boards for elimination had been released.
This story was originally reported by the Indiana Capital Chronicle.