MUNCIE – Half a dozen local manufacturers complained on Wednesday about a labor shortage, including one employer so desperate it doesn't rule out job seekers who fail drug tests.
"Most of our turnover is from people who just don't want to work," said Rick Dishman, project manager at Reber Machine and Tool Co., 1112 S. Liberty St. "We've never had so much trouble finding people."
Reber and other manufacturers, including Mursix, Brevini USA, Beckett Bronze and North America Stamping Group, met with officials from workforce development, city hall and Ivy Tech Community College at a "Certified Work Ready Community" kickoff event for Muncie-Delaware County.
"We have a lot of jobs," one of the employers said.
To address the problem, Delaware and Randolph counties have turned to ACT — the same people who administer the ACT college admissions and placement test — to become certified as "Work Ready Communities."
Delaware and Randolph are among only a handful of Indiana counties on the verge of getting certified.
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