Indiana is looking to the military to help boost its workforce. Earlier this year, the state launched its Next Level Veterans initiative to try to entice those leaving the military to move to Indiana. Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch discussed the program during her visit to Culver last week.
She told local officials that roughly 200,000 service members leave the military each year. Half will go through a period of unemployment, and a third will move away from their home state or where their base is located.
To help bring some of them to Indiana, Crouch said the state is putting in place an “intensive recruiting program” on some of the largest military bases, to match service members with Hoosier employers. As part of the program, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority is giving employers a $5,000 grant to offer to veterans. Crouch said that money can be used for relocation costs, closing costs, insurance costs, or other uses that will bring veterans to Indiana.
The potential economic boost that veterans bring hasn’t gone unnoticed by local leaders, either. The Marshall County Economic Development Corporation is working to launch its own web portal, to try to attract them.
Crouch was in Culver to tour some of the town’s Stellar Communities projects. Their goal is to grow the town’s workforce through new housing options and increased quality of place, like new amenities in the Town Park.
