Southern Indiana Business March-April 2020 | Page 44

SPOTLIGHT
Fabel reads through lines of coding to find the needed server port.
“Five years from
now, you’re going
to see more of a
pipeline from Ivy
Tech into certain
employers.”
— Kofi Darku
44
March / April 2020
“It’s much more focused. It’s much more
intentional. And, in my opinion, it is staffed
correctly,” Haire said. “This was not a one-
person job and, prior to this, it was one person
who was really our career services … having
job fairs and having employers come in and
meet our students.”
Soon, a team of five will be doing that,
plus helping connect students to internships,
resume workshops, mock interviews and
more.
Darku said he believes the program will
be a success, as will be demonstrated in the
number of students not only matched, but
also staying in their career jobs.
“Five years from now, I think you’re defi-
nitely going to see improved job placement,”
Darku said, adding that he wants to see better
salaries for graduates. “… Instead of having
what I’d consider to be more transactional,
we help companies fill some of their immedi-
ate positions right now, five years from now,
Photo by Tyler Stewart
you’re going to see more of a pipeline from
Ivy Tech into certain employers.”
He sees this movement heading
nationwide.
“I think Indiana 10 years from now will be
one of those states helping other states learn
how you do a better job of home growing tal-
ent for those local jobs,” Darku said.
TANDEM SOLUTIONS
Change takes more than ambition.
It takes money.
With budgets always tight, Haire looked
to his past. Having spent a large portion of
his career in K-12 educational leadership, he
knew the opportunities and facilities already
available in Southern Indiana. So, Ivy Tech
teamed up with Prosser Career Education
Center, in New Albany, to offer the two new
programs on Prosser’s campus, taught by
Ivy Tech professors, allowing them to share
resources, space and technology.