Ascend Indiana awards $700K for pilot youth apprenticeship programs
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Ascend Indiana this week announced it is awarding a total of $700,000 to four locations around the state to launch youth apprenticeship pilot programs.
The talent and workforce development initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership said the programs are part of the Indiana Youth Apprenticeship Accelerator launched in 2021.
“What we’re trying to do is increase the opportunities for youth in Indiana and engaging in industry by expanding opportunities and education to include industry partners throughout Indiana,” Ascend CEO Brad Rhorer said.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Rhorer said the collaborations outlined in the recipients’ applications helped them stand out for the funding.
“[We were] really looking at the collaboration between industry and education and the community, and coming together there to develop those opportunities, because industry is going to be a key component in apprenticeship opportunities,” he said. “Education takes place in both K-12, and inside the four walls of industry, so the partnerships were incredibly strong.”
Youth apprentices start in their junior year of high school and complete a 2-3 year program to prepare for in-demand careers in a variety of industries. The programs have a combination of classroom learning and paid, on-the-job training under the mentorship of a skilled employee, allowing students to earn their high school diplomas and industry-recognized credentials.
Each grant recipient is being awarded $175,000, which comes from the Walton Family Foundation.
Eastern Indiana Works in Muncie and the East Central Education Service Center in New Castle plan to use their funding to create work-based learning opportunities in advanced manufacturing, health care, information technology and education.
The Southern Indiana Education Center in Jasper plans to use its funds to focus on the health care industry due to the projected growth of the sector surpassing all other sectors in southwest Indiana.
Southern Indiana Works in New Albany said it will initially focus on the health care industry and is actively engaged in discussions regarding pathways encompassing both information technology and business operations.
West Central Indiana Career and Technical Education Center in Crawfordsville said it plans to use its funds to focus on the health care pathway as a foundation for building out a more robust Pre-Nursing Youth Apprenticeship experience.
“Youth apprenticeship programs represent an investment in our youth, our communities, and the future workforce,” the center said in a news release. “Through collaboration with our partners, our aim is to empower students with the skills, experiences, and opportunities for success in an ever-evolving workplace and health care system.”
Rhorer said it’s important to have youth apprenticeship programs in place because there isn’t one solution to creating a workforce development pipeline.
“There are a lot of students that have aspirations to go directly into postsecondary and maybe a four-year or a master’s program. Some students want to get more hands on experience,” he said. “So when you look at apprenticeships and workplace learning in Indiana, it’s important that we have both. So really shoring up and having good experiences in both sides going into the workforce and getting industry to be co-developers of talent is going to be key for us to continue to grow the pipeline in Indiana.”
The new grant recipients bring a total of pilot programs around the state to eight serving 42 counties. Rhorer said the goal is to bring more students into the fold.
“We really want to see more students engaged in the work. We’ve hit nearly 500 thus far, and we’d love to see that number continue to grow and get into larger and more high schools throughout Indiana. We’d love to see this permeate throughout all the counties in Indiana and see those equal opportunities happening for for any Hoosier student that’s looking for that work-based learning experience for that apprenticeship program.”