Toyota Donates $60,000 to Help Hoosiers Without a High School Diploma Further Their Education

There are 460,000 Hoosiers that don’t have a high school diploma.

Vincennes University and WorkOne Southwest is joining forces with Toyota to make it easier on people looking to gain a high school equivalency.

Lauren Bell, the Adult Basic Education Director at Vincennes University, says “one of the main barriers they face is the $90 fee to take the high school equivalence test. That’s the number one thing that stops people.”

While the High School Equivalency program has been around for years, Toyota’s donation of $60,000 will take away that fee for those wishing to brighten their future. They say students are set back when they need to use that money on transportation or taking care of their families.

Blair Milo, the Career and Talent Secretary of Indiana, says “it’s absolutely critical to be able to have access to some higher wages and move forward along a tremendous career path as we are seeing technology bring forward lots more skills required for different types of jobs.”

The high school equivalency opens new doors for students, especially those looking to get into the world of manufacturing. Toyota is looking to add 400 people this year alone to its Princeton location.

Chris Reynolds, the Chief Administrative Director of Toyota, says “Evansville has the great benefit of having a place with low unemployment and with great people and employers willing to bring on people for jobs so we know that we are in competition with other employers here.”

10,000 people are living in Gibson and Vanderburgh County right now that don’t have a high school diploma. Milo says “a little over half of those individuals are actually working already so we’d love to be able to support those individuals to have access to that credential that’s so critical to being able to move forward in a career path.”

Classes will begin later this month with the test fee waived. Interested students should contact Connie Coulter at 812.881.7343 or cjcoulter@cinergymetro.net for more information.