The Honda Generation

Jordan Fischer

Though Honda and Greensburg have been paired for less than a week, already changes are starting to occur.

Unknowingly, the graduating classes of 2004 through 2008 were transformed into Decatur County’s next-generation workforce on Wednesday. With Honda promising to bring 2,000 jobs to the community, and undoubtedly many more soon to follow in their footsteps, the labor pool in the county was handed a sharp and definite request for educated workers.

Honda currently employs more than 29,000 associates in the United States. Of those 29,000, 21,700 are in manufacturing positions, 6,000 in sales and finance, and 1,300 in research and development. Knowing that the Greensburg facility will be a full automotive assembly plant, the employment should hold true to the national average and weigh heavily on the manufacturing side. What this means for Decatur County is that a large need for skilled employees with higher-level technical training is waiting just over the horizon.

“Manufacturing is a lot different than it was 10 or 20 years ago, you can’t just expect to walk off the streets and get a job,” explained Beth Miller. Miller is the Greensburg Community Learning Center coordinator for College Cooperative Southeast. “You need technical skills and computer skills. They are going to want people with education.”

Even part-time employees need to be a step above the man on the street. Though most positions at Honda facilities are full-time, rare part-time positions also come with a requirement of enrollment in an accredited college or university pursuant to a degree. The message is simple, Honda wants their employees to be the best and the brightest, and that requires higher-level education through a college degree.

Currently, only one in ten Decatur County residents possess a Bachelor’s Degree or higher, compared to the state average of one in five, and the national level of one in four. Miller, among others, hopes that the addition of Honda to the community will help change those numbers.

“I think people are going to realize they have to make themselves as marketable as possible to have a chance at these jobs, and one of the ways of doing that is higher level education,” she said.

Adding to the issue is this: The majority of students who do leave home to pursue their college degree do not return to the county. Without jobs available to them, they had no reason to come home again.

“Prior to this announcement, what were the opportunities for high-level employment in Decatur County?” Miller asked. “For students who do go off to college and get their degree, this gives a lot more opportunity to come home if they want and, still get a job that pays a good wage.”

The college-bound students of the 2004-’08 graduating classes are certainly in line to fill these Honda jobs that will require a college degree but by no means, have they cornered the market. There are many options for furthering one’s education besides the traditional two or four year institution, and one major opportunity exists already in Decatur County, the Greensburg Community Learning Center (GCLC).

“You can already earn an Associates or Bachelor’s Degree in organizational leadership and supervision from Purdue University right here in Greensburg,” Miller said. “Now we’re going to work on getting more of the manufacturing-side courses in here. It’s not just Honda that is going to need employees. There is going to be such an increase in business that numerous openings in non-Honda jobs will be available too.”

To meet the needs of filling these jobs, both the Learning Center and Greensburg Community Schools are committed to expanding their programs, and working with Honda to achieve the workforce required.

“We expect to help them in hiring, training and continuing education all along the line,” said Jim Cummings, director of the Learning Center.

The GCLC is currently utilized by more than 230 students enrolled in a total of 350 classes. Those numbers are expected to rise as many new courses will be offered in the fall.

“We have two new mechanical engineering technology classes from Purdue that will be offered in the fall,” Miller noted. “They are equivalent to classes on the Purdue University campus. The instructor actually comes down from West Lafayette to teach them.”

The Learning Center will also be adding an agribusiness management class, and is working with several universities to develop industrial based and technical degree programs specifically with Honda in mind.

With the opening of the Honda automotive plant scheduled for 2008, Decatur County residents who are hopeful for a position in the plant have time to ensure they are the right person for the job. Making that happen, however, may be difficult if on interview day they don’t have a college degree in hand.

For more on the effects of Honda coming to Greensburg, see this week’s edition of the Think Tank on page A7.

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