We at Ready Indiana applaud Congresswoman Susan Brooks for a successful first run of the “Connecting Careers and Classrooms” event series in April. We certainly learned a lot, and it was great to see so many educators and industry leaders gathered to share information.

“Connecting Careers and Classrooms” is a series of workshops convened in Indiana’s 5th District that bridge the gap between industry and educators and fuels the future for our students. The first event focused on agriculture and was held at Beck’s Superior Hybrids in Atlanta, Ind. The next event is expected in the fall, and future sectors of focus will include the life sciences, technology and manufacturing.

Employers such as Red Gold, Beck’s Hybrids and JBS United spoke about their workforce needs, and the running themes through each presentation were the importance of soft skills and the desire for more students to see agriculture as a viable career path.

“I feed pigs. What a sexy profession that is!” Dr. Joel Spencer of JBS United joked at the event. “But what more noble profession is there than feeding the world? People always eat so there will always be jobs.”

“Our work is stable, secure and recession-proof, and that is hard to find,” John Carlson of Red Gold said.

Learn more about the “Connecting Careers and Classrooms” events.