There’s one word in Southeastern Indiana that has the same star power as a Cher, Fabio or even Madonna. One mention of the H-word brings people to attention.

Tuesday, more than 100 employers from around the region converged on the Greensburg Community Learning Center to hear a presentation by the Indiana Dept. of Workforce Development (DWD) regarding the expected impact from Honda’s arrival.

“This is great news that Honda has chosen to locate here,” said DWD Commissioner Ron Stiver. “However, with great news comes challenges. You’re here because you want to know what this means to you and your workforce. Do we have the employees to meet these challenges?”

The meeting, which drew employers from Rushville, Batesville, Connorsville and cities in every direction, started with a demographic breakdown of the economic profile area surrounding the upcoming Honda plant. The experts said the auto manufacturer will be drawing from a pool of 87,000 potential employees of working age within a 30-mile radius. That pool is expected to increase as the higher wages paid by Honda will certainly draw people from nearby states and as far away in-state as Bloomington.

Trevor Lane, director of the Southeast Region of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, said all prospective employees may not need to make a pilgrimage to Decatur County to get a high-paying job. In fact, he said, Honda would prefer if some of its partner companies kept a safe distance.

“Honda wants its Tier 1 and 2 suppliers to be within an hours drive to help with just-in-time delivery,” Lane said. “But, at the same time, they have an agreement with their suppliers not to compete against each other within a workforce. Honda prefers they locate 30-to-50 miles away.”

With this in mind, the entire region could be set for a windfall of as yet unseen proportions.

“The impact of Honda is going to be tremendous throughout the region. For every one of the 2,000 jobs Honda creates, you can expect a multiplier effect of another seven jobs in Southeastern Indiana,” Lane said. “The IEDC is trying to set up the infrastructure now because suppliers are out there and looking to move to the area. There are suppliers out there looking around right now and you might not even know it. Also, current local suppliers will be looking to expand. Honda’s going to start rolling out cars in 2008. Trust me, that will come fast.”

Neither the DWD nor the IEDC representatives had a specific timeline for Honda’s hiring to start but promised they are working closely with the car maker and will share information when it becomes available.

“We’re already working hard with Honda to meet its workforce needs,” Stiver said. “Honda is on its own timeline but it’s an aggressive one. They’re still lining things up. They know the hiring process is a top priority for local employers in this area and as soon as we know we’ll make sure the public knows.”

Nearby employers are apprehensive about Honda’s new plant for two reasons. Many will lose current employees and secondly, Honda will pay more than the wage local managers have become accustomed to offering.

“Any time you inject a need for 2,000 skilled workers, it puts pressure on wages,” Stiver said. “Our goal is to increase the supply of skilled labor.”

Stiver also said residents wishing to work with Honda may want to get started thinking about a career path now.

“Skilled maintenance workers, CNC operators, welders and people with the basic soft people skills will be well positioned,” he said. “Now is the time to learn a skill and get additional training. There’s a great opportunity to get into a good paying job by improving your education level.”

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