Former governors say workforce development remains Indiana’s top challenge

By GARRETT BERGQUIST
WISH-TV | wishtv.com

Indiana’s three most recent governors on Thursday said state leaders must remain focused on ensuring Indiana’s workforce can take advantage of opportunities that arise.

Daniels

Pence

Holcomb

Eric Holcomb, Mike Pence, and Mitch Daniels, all Republicans, were the center of a panel discussion at the OneZone Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Noblesville. The three men led Indiana for a combined total of 20 years across five terms, from the beginning of Daniels’ term in 2005 until Holcomb left office in January.

The workforce comments came in response to a question asking what each governor believes is the number one issue Indiana will face over the next decade. Holcomb said Indiana’s destiny depends on the skill of its workforce. He said the state’s future leaders need to attend to all of the policy questions that relate to the issue.

“You have to make sure [the workforce] is healthy and you have to make sure it’s educated,” Holcomb said. “And so, there’s all kinds of other priorities that are right alongside the level of our workforce that we have to pay attention to.”

Holcomb’s two predecessors, Pence and Daniels, said they agreed.

Pence said Indiana’s economic growth shows the strategy of reducing taxes and regulations is working. He praised the actions of current Gov. Mike Braun and legislative Republicans this session, and said Indiana has an opportunity to lead the country economically.

Daniels said he also was optimistic, but added Indiana’s falling reading scores are cause for concern. He said Indiana policymakers should not take anything for granted.

“We’ve got, as far as I can tell, some of the most progressive education laws in the country in terms of the flexibility and the freedom and the standards and all the rest, but we are not implementing on them as well as we could,” Daniels said. “It’s not enough to have the fundamentals in place. We have to execute on them all the time.”

The three former governors also addressed the qualities they believe all leaders should possess. Daniels said a leader’s character is every bit as important as the policies one implements, and he doesn’t expect that will change, even amid technological and societal change. Pence and Holcomb said they believe civility will come back. Pence said part of that comes down to lawmakers being transparent with the American people about what needs to be done, such as with the problem of the national debt. Holcomb said leaders should not ask those around them to sacrifice their principles, nor should policymakers sacrifice progress in the name of the pursuit of perfection.

This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/politics/former-governors-say-workforce-development-remains-indianas-top-challenge.