Workforce development initiative banks $2.5M
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Ascend Indiana, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership’s talent and workforce development initiative, is using two grants totaling $2.45 million to build up and increase the number of youth apprenticeship programs.
A $1.7 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation will be used to create a second cohort of five locations across the state to start apprenticeship pilots. Those sites will receive $25,000 and follow-up funding through Ascend Indiana’s Youth Apprenticeship Accelerator.
Those selected are:
- Center of Workforce Innovations in Valparaiso
- Eastern Indiana Works in Muncie
- Southern Indiana Education Center in Jasper
- Southern Indiana Works in New Albany
- West Central Indiana Career and Technical Education Center in Crawfordsville
“The generous support from the Walton Family Foundation will pave the way for exponential impact, establishing modern youth apprenticeship as a sought-after talent strategy for employers and a successful education and career pathway for students in Indiana,” Jason Kloth, president and CEO of Ascend Indiana, said in a news release. “Youth apprenticeship programs in Indiana are expected to enroll at least 450 new apprentices by fall of 2025.”
Ascend Indiana also received a $750,000 grant from the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship. Those funds will support the first cohort of the Indiana Youth Apprenticeship Accelerator pilot programs that were launched in 2021.
That cohort is operated by Regional Opportunity Initiatives Inc. in the Indiana Uplands region, OptIN/Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Foundation, The Pursuit Institute in Hamilton County and EmployIndy. These pilots have matched 500 high school students with employers so far.
“Youth apprenticeship is an innovative post-secondary strategy that better connects the learning needs of students with the talent needs of industry,” said Taylor White, director, Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship. “We are proud to continue our support for Ascend’s leadership in Indiana’s burgeoning youth apprenticeship movement and look forward to the progress ahead.”