Your Next Great Hire May Already Work for You: Building Talent From Within

Employee development in Rush County can be just as important as recruiting new workers. When employers need additional skills, supervisors or people prepared to take on more responsibility, the first place to look may be inside their own organization.

Hiring will always be an important part of workforce development. But employers also have another valuable workforce strategy: developing the people they already have.

That can mean helping an entry-level employee gain new technical skills, preparing an experienced worker for a leadership role, creating clearer career pathways or giving employees opportunities to advance as the needs of the business change.

For employers, that isn’t simply training.

It’s workforce development.

Why Employee Development in Rush County Matters

Every employee who gains a new skill adds capacity to an organization.

Developing current employees can help businesses build the skills they need while creating opportunities for workers to advance without leaving the company—or the community—to find their next opportunity.

It can also help employers think differently about workforce shortages.

Instead of asking only, “Where can we find someone who already has every skill we need?”, another useful question is:

“Who do we already have that could grow into this role?”

Sometimes the strongest candidate for tomorrow’s opening is already on today’s payroll.

Career Pathways Don’t Have to Be Complicated

Creating opportunities for advancement doesn’t necessarily require a large formal program.

Employers can begin by looking at positions that are difficult to fill or skills that are becoming increasingly important.

Consider questions such as:

• Which positions are hardest for us to recruit?
• Which employees have demonstrated the ability to take on more responsibility?
• What skills would someone need to move from an entry-level position into a more advanced role?
• Are experienced employees approaching retirement who hold knowledge that needs to be transferred?
• Could training help an existing employee fill a future need?

Those conversations can turn workforce planning from a reaction to a vacancy into preparation for one.

Indiana Is Encouraging Employers to Grow Their Own Talent

Indiana is also placing increased emphasis on developing workers who are already employed.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s Power Up Indiana initiative encourages employers to build employee skills and career pathways and includes an employer incentive component. DWD describes the initiative as a way for businesses to develop existing talent while supporting wage growth and advancement.

Employers interested in the program should review current requirements directly with DWD before making training or financial decisions, because eligibility and reimbursement requirements apply.

Learn about Power Up Indiana through Indiana DWD

Power Up Indiana isn’t the only workforce resource available to employers. Depending on the business, employee and type of training involved, other state or workforce programs may also be worth exploring.

Start With the Workforce Need

The most useful starting point isn’t necessarily asking, “What grant can I get?”

Start with the business problem.

Maybe you need more skilled operators.

Maybe you’re having difficulty developing frontline supervisors.

Maybe technology is changing the skills required for a position.

Maybe you have a strong employee who is ready for more responsibility but needs additional training.

Once the need is clear, ECDC and workforce partners can help determine whether there are resources or connections worth exploring.

Employee Development in Rush County Starts From Within

Recruitment gets a lot of attention because vacancies are easy to see.

Employee development can be less visible, but it is an important part of building a resilient workforce.

A worker who sees an opportunity to learn, advance and build a career has a reason to imagine a future with that employer.

A business that continually develops its people builds skills it can draw on as needs change.

And when Rush County businesses and workers grow together, the entire community benefits.

Is your business thinking about training, advancement, succession planning or another workforce challenge?

Rush County ECDC can help you identify workforce resources and connect with the appropriate partners. Start by telling us what your business is trying to accomplish.

The Indiana Employer Training Grant may help qualifying businesses offset the cost of training new or current employees.

Training employees costs money. Whether a business is teaching a new hire the skills needed for a position or helping an existing employee advance into a more skilled role, that investment can add up quickly.

Whether a business is teaching a new hire the skills needed for a position or helping an existing employee advance into a more skilled role, that investment can add up quickly.

Indiana employers may have a resource available to help offset some of those costs.

The Employer Training Grant, administered by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, reimburses qualifying Indiana employers for eligible occupational-skills training for new or current employees working in high-demand positions.

For Rush County employers planning to strengthen their workforce, it’s a program worth knowing about.

How the Indiana Employer Training Grant Can Help

According to current Indiana DWD guidance, participating employers can receive up to $50,000 in reimbursements.

Eligible employers may receive reimbursement of up to $5,000 per newly trained employee, subject to program requirements. Workers must be trained, hired and retained for at least six months, and the training must meet the state’s eligibility standards.

This isn’t simply reimbursement for routine orientation or informal job shadowing.

The training must build occupational skills connected to an eligible, in-demand occupation.

What Types of Businesses May Qualify?

The Employer Training Grant currently supports training associated with six priority sectors:

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Agriculture
• Building & Construction
• Health & Life Sciences
• IT & Business Services
• Transportation & Logistics

Indiana-based employers of any size are encouraged to apply, although the proposed training and occupations must satisfy the program’s requirements.

That makes the program particularly relevant in a community like Rush County, where several of these sectors are important parts of the local and regional economy.

What Kind of Training Counts?

This is where employers should pay close attention.

Eligible training must meet Indiana Department of Workforce Development requirements and be connected to qualifying occupational skills and eligible positions. Routine onboarding, general human-resources training and informal job shadowing may not qualify.

Additional eligibility requirements apply, including requirements related to the employees being trained, wages, training duration and retention. Because program requirements can change, employers should confirm current requirements with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development before beginning training or making financial decisions based on anticipated reimbursement.

The best first step is to discuss the proposed training before it begins. That allows an employer to determine whether the business, employees and planned training meet current program requirements.

Why Employer Training Matters in Rush County

Workforce development isn’t only about finding someone to fill an open position.

Sometimes the person an employer needs is already on the payroll—or a strong candidate can become the right employee with additional training.

Developing workers internally can help employers build skills that match their specific operations while creating advancement opportunities for employees.

Indiana’s Employer Training Grant is designed around that concept: helping businesses grow their own talent.

For employers struggling to find workers with every skill they need on day one, that approach can open another option.

Instead of asking only:

“Where do we find someone who already has these skills?”

it may also be worth asking:

“Can we develop those skills in someone we already have—or someone we’re willing to hire?”

Indiana Employer Training Grant: What Employers Should Know

One important point: employers shouldn’t complete training and assume they can request reimbursement afterward.

DWD’s process requires employers to submit information about their proposed training and work with the program before reimbursement. The state describes the process in three basic steps: apply, establish the training program, and then seek reimbursement after program requirements are met.

If your Rush County business is considering hiring, upskilling employees or developing workers for harder-to-fill positions, investigate the program before the training begins.

Indiana DWD Employer Training Grant information

Rush County employers can also contact the Rush to Work Job Center/WorkOne in Rushville to discuss workforce needs and available employer resources.

Workforce development works best when businesses don’t have to navigate every resource alone.

The latest Rush County workforce data provides a new snapshot of local employment, wages and the businesses that employ our workforce.

According to data released September 4 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Rush County had 428 covered establishments and 4,972 covered jobs in March 2026. The county’s average weekly wage during the first quarter of 2026 was $1,016.

Those numbers are more than statistics. They help provide context for the economic and workforce development work happening throughout Rush County.

Understanding Rush County Workforce Data

The Bureau of Labor Statistics figures come from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, commonly called QCEW.

The data includes workers covered by state unemployment insurance programs and federal workers covered by the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program. Because of that definition, these numbers should not be interpreted as every person who works or every business operating in Rush County.

Instead, they provide a consistent way to examine employment and wages across communities.

What Rush County Workforce Data Tells Us

Rush County workforce data becomes more useful when we put the numbers into context. Rush County’s first-quarter average weekly wage of $1,016 compares with an Indiana average of $1,356. Statewide, Indiana had approximately 3.16 million covered jobs in March 2026, while the state’s average weekly wage increased 2.7% from the first quarter of 2025.

Rush County is one of Indiana’s smaller employment markets, which makes the strength and competitiveness of individual employers particularly important to the local economy.

For economic development, the goal isn’t simply to increase one number.

A healthy local economy requires businesses that can compete, workers who can build successful careers, a pipeline of future talent, and a community that can attract and retain both employers and residents.

Why Workforce Development Matters

Workforce data also reinforces why economic development and workforce development cannot operate separately.

When an existing employer wants to expand, workforce availability matters.

When a company considers Rush County for a new investment, access to talent matters.

When students make decisions about education and careers, knowing what opportunities exist locally matters.

And when residents are looking for better employment opportunities, connections to employers, training and career resources matter.

That is why Rush County ECDC works across several parts of the talent pipeline—from helping employers address current workforce needs to connecting residents with employment resources and helping students gain exposure to local careers.

Building for the Future

Rush County workforce data from a single quarter doesn’t tell the entire story of our local economy, and preliminary federal data can be revised.

What it does give us is another useful benchmark.

As Rush County works to attract investment, support existing businesses and strengthen its talent pipeline, tracking employment and wage data helps us better understand where we are—and where opportunities exist to keep moving forward.

Rush County ECDC will continue working with employers, educators, workforce partners and community leaders to help build a stronger local economy and create opportunities for the people who call Rush County home.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, First Quarter 2026. Data is preliminary.

View the September 4 BLS County Employment and Wages report