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Indiana DWD Launches AI-Powered Job Board Site

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development has launched a job board to help unemployed or underemployed Hoosiers find work, it's called the "Hoosier Talent Network."
Courtesy Indiana DWD
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development has launched a job board to help unemployed or underemployed Hoosiers find work, it's called the "Hoosier Talent Network."

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development has launched a job board to help unemployed or underemployed Hoosiers find work, it's called the “ Hoosier Talent Network.

On the surface, the jobs board looks like any other: workers key in their work experience and employers put in job openings. But this system is supposed to use an artificial intelligence algorithm from tech company Eightfold AI to hunt for skills in profiles and match them with skills in job descriptions. It also lets employers create customized hiring campaigns. 

Eightfold AI President Kamal Ahluwalia said, unlike other job boards, their software will also suggest pathways to get new career skills.

“So their job hunt becomes much simpler and faster and that also drives that ‘OK, if I’m not getting the right fit, then what do I need to do? Maybe I do need to learn one or two things,’” he said. 

DWD contracted with the company to pay $2.6 million for the service over the next two years. Eightfold said Indiana is the first state to use its platform, but they hope to implement it in other states soon. 

Contact reporter Justin at  jhicks@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @Hicks_JustinM.

Justin Hicks is a workforce reporter for IPB News based at WVPE in Elkhart. He comes to Indiana by way of New York. He has a master's degree from the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University and earned a Bachelor of Music Degree from Appalachian State University where he played trumpet. He first learned about Elkhart, Indiana, because of the stamp on his brass instrument indicating where it was produced. Justin was born and raised in Mt. Olive, North Carolina. He currently lives in South Bend with his dog, Charlotte.
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