As part of her “Hoosier Education Tour,” Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (IN-02) stopped in Warsaw today to visit Ivy Tech Warsaw Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center.

Walorski had a chance to tour the facility and hear how students are learning skills to prepare them for work in the orthopedics sector. Warsaw is the current headquarters for three of the world’s five largest orthopedic medical device companies and home to a host of related firms.

“In order to ensure we have a strong and growing economy, we need a pipeline of skilled workers. To achieve that, we must support policies that teach Hoosiers important skills that will translate into a job. We know Indiana is an economic leader with our AAA credit rating, low property taxes and tax incentives for new business, but we also must ensure that our kids are prepared for the future and will have the skills necessary to compete globally. Thanks to this state-of-the-art training facility at Ivy Tech, students are learning skills the orthopedics industry needs in their future workforce.”

The OAMTC is a 20,000-square-foot facility located in Warsaw and offers state-of-the-art academic programs and training for individuals and organizations and serves as a vital resource to the region’s students, employers, and businesses.

Walorski visited Warsaw during her 2-day district tour in recognition of the 7,700 students attending high school or college in Kosciusko County who will need job-ready skills in the next few years to prepare them to compete in the global workforce. Over the course of the tour, Walorski plans to visit workforce training facilities that prepare students with real-world skills necessary to obtain a job, and schools with outstanding programs in various subject areas – all to learn more about what northern Indiana is doing to ensure Hoosier children have the opportunities to become a highly skilled workers able to compete in a global economy.

“Northern Indiana has a wealth of opportunities for future generations learn to skills they’re going to need later in life to be successful in our workforce. Over the next two days, I want to find out what else I can do to help our employers, local schools and workforce training facilities make certain we’re providing every opportunity to future generations of Warsaw to succeed.”

The stop also provided Walorski with the chance to discuss legislation she supported that shifts federal funds to local communities, allowing employment centers to partner directly with local employers, educators, and skills trainers to prepare workers to fill job openings in these communities.

The legislation, called the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, is an important step toward addressing a serious national challenge: the chronic mismatch of skills to available jobs. WIOA will help to create an effective, modern workforce training system to fill available jobs with qualified workers. The bill passed the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support and is now headed to the president’s desk for signature into law.