WIRED….What’s That?

Posted by Peggy Hosea

“Where are you working?”  “I’m working with WIRED.”  “WIRED??”“Yes, WIRED, Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development.” Throughout the past year, this question has come up more times than I can say, and still I struggle with a quick and easy ‘while you’re in line at the grocery store’ type of answer.

Staying up on the news about WIRED is equally difficult.  Each day I dutifully read the Google Alerts that have been sent my way about WIRED only to see such entries as:

• Obesity May Be Wired In The Brain, Rat Study Suggests
• Forbes.com names America's most wired cities
• Grass roots gets wired

But occasionally the search pays off and I find really relevant articles like these:

• WIRED to Host Entrepreneur Workshop - Newsroom - Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick
• High hopes at Rochester’s New Tech High School
• According to forum, green is good

There are always the basics of course, like ‘WIRED is a $15 million DOL grant being administered by Purdue.’  And the national tag line is “WIRED: Talent Driving Prosperity”. But what do we do?  Here are some examples:

• We’re developing skills so that our employees will have jobs - better skills and better jobs.
• We’re encouraging individuals, young and old, to become entrepreneurs and create their own jobs, for themselves and for others.
• We’re working with businesses to be sure they’re using the latest technology available to keep them as growing, internationally-competitive employers.
• We’re training their employees, providing certificates in manufacturing, energy efficiency and several other important initiatives.
• We’re working with community leaders, elected officials, everyone involved in education, workforce and economic development to find the right ideas to move our region forward.
• We’re creating a network to bring leaders together to learn from each other, share challenges, successes, and get our region on the map.  Not just the Indiana map, the world map.
• So where am I working?  It’s still hard to describe and I would love to hear your suggestions for a quick and easy answer.  In the meantime, I just find the longest line at the grocery store.

Contact Peggy Hosea phosea@purdue.edu  to learn more about WIRED or to suggest a shorter explanation.  You can also visit the WIRED website at www.indiana-wired.net.