On Wednesday, October 5th, EmployIndy and Ascend Indiana gathered at OneAmerica for the Modern Apprenticeship Employer Info Session + Breakfast. Nearly 40 businesses were represented at the event as the event kicked off employer recruitment for the third cohort of Marion County’s Modern Apprenticeship program.

Modern Apprenticeship (MAP) is a 3-year work-based learning program that begins during a student’s junior year in high school. The program offers students paid employment, which is critical to making the program a sustainable solution to address inequity in Marion County. Students also participate in on-the-job learning that contributes to actual job tasks and aligns with role competencies and related academics. When students graduate from the Modern Apprenticeship program, they earn industry credentials as well as transferable college credit that not only offer tangible skills during their apprenticeship but will stay with them throughout the duration of their careers,

“Modern Apprenticeship brings together employers, students, and educators to build a sustainable employment pipeline,” says Marie Mackintosh, Chief Strategy Officer at EmployIndy.  “These pipelines address employer talent challenges, create a path for student work experience, and provide industry input into education standards and curriculum.”

Additionally, Modern Apprenticeship registers apprenticeship experiences with the U.S Department of Labor via Register Apprenticeship programs (RAPs). RAPs enable more employers to participate in apprenticeships while, simultaneously, increasing their access to quality talent pools. 

Businesses struggle to find the talent they need in today’s world of work, yet, at the same time, postsecondary graduation rates are declining, and young people are searching for quality jobs without the credentials or skills to be successful. Over ¾ of Indiana’s employers cannot find qualified candidates for their open positions. 

These talent challenges were addressed by a panel of business leaders at the event, including Ayaz Malik, Group Marketing Manager, Digital Strategy at Roche Diagnostics; Michelle Mitchell, National Manager, Early Talent Development at Ascension; Eduardo Nieto, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director at OneAmerica; and Mario Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority. The panel was moderated by Jay Styles, Senior Director of Business Partnerships at EmployIndy. 

“The healthcare industry is having a great challenge in only finding highly qualified talent, but retaining them as well. All of the Marion County healthcare systems are competing for the same, small supply of candidates,” says Michelle Mitchell, National Manager of Early Talent Development at Ascension. “Ascension has had to rethink how we have defined and pursued talent, and the Modern Apprenticeship program has helped us to create a custom talent pipeline where students are actually looking to create a career.”

The Modern Apprenticeship program also furthers crucial diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts as 90% of our current Youth Apprentice are people of color and/or female-identifying. This statistic, alone, defies the perceptions of traditional apprenticeships and speaks to the diverse talent available within our own community.

“Traditionally, the financial services industry is dominated by only a particular demographic,” says Eduardo Nieto, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director at OneAmerica. “Modern Apprenticeship has helped us expand and go beyond the traditional hires we normally have and diversify the talent in our workplace.”

Modern Apprenticeship works as a talent solution for businesses of all sizes as apprentices are able to develop on-the-job skills that are tailored to the company's needs. Employers are able to develop their own, diverse talent and create opportunities for growth while engaging young people and improving retention by investing in a new way of learning. 

“The Modern Apprenticeship program has found a lot of success in giving young leaders within an organization the opportunity to manage apprentices. It is a great way to grow the next generation of leaders within a company,” says Stephanie Bothun, Vice President & Co-founder of Ascend Indiana. “And there’s no better time than now to join Modern Apprenticeship.”

Interested in becoming a Modern Apprenticeship employer? Email YAinfo@nullemployindy.org to begin your organization’s journey with Youth Apprenticeship today!

Ironworkers Local 22 engaged the 375 rising freshmen from four Marion County public high schools as well as the Newcomer Program during EmployIndy’s Let’s Build event at Arsenal Technical High School on July 13th.

The Ironworkers brought a column with them to the Talent Bound event, the real-life application of which is to provide journey-persons the ability to install bolts and beams at height for taller buildings, according to Ironworkers Local 22 Union Apprenticeship Coordinator and President, Ken Haggard. Haggard was on-site at Let’s Build and has 18 years of experience in the industry. As Haggard described the work, “We put everything up so others have something to attach to.” 

The Ironworkers’ booth attracted a steady line of students—and even EmployIndy President and CEO, Angela Carr Klitzsch, who made an appearance and demonstrated some impressive climbing skills of her own. Students who had an interest in climbing the column were able to hook in and test their courage and strength. 

Between fully-trained and certified journeymen and women and those who are in training, there are about 900 Ironworkers in Indianapolis with plenty of space for more. Most Ironworkers start with a four-year apprenticeship that partners with Ivy Tech, in which participants earn an Associate of Applied Science in Technology while learning all aspects of welding along the way. 

EmployIndy is also able to work with interested business partners to get them started in the three-year Modern Apprenticeship Program. Reach out to your preferred contact on EmployIndy’s business partnership team to learn more. 

For the Ironworkers, no experience is expected or required on the front end, and applications for the three or four annual cohorts are considered all year long. Upon beginning the program, apprentices earn $20.54 an hour (plus a generous array of benefits) while working for one of the 70 or so contractors with whom Ironworkers partners. That hourly wage increases to $34.24 once the apprenticeship is completed. 

The Ironworkers were not the only engaging booth at Let’s Build. The membership-based Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors were also represented at the event and grabbed student attention with their university-built, virtual sandbox, the elements of which can be shifted around to create topographical features such as hills, valleys, and bodies of water. 

Surveyors, according to Rodney Kelly, the Director of Survey Services at the Good Wages Initiative-certified Etica Group—are “expert measurers.” The measurements are then used to create maps, which are used for a number of purposes within the engineering and construction fields. 

On Wednesday, July 13, over 400 students from Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) gathered at Arsenal Technical High School to participate in the inaugural LET’S BUILD! event. Formed in partnership between EmployIndy’s Talent Bound, Built to Succeed (Indiana Careers in Construction), and IPS, LET’S BUILD! is a one-day construction camp that brought together all 14 union building trades in Marion County to offer hands-on activities and further career exposure opportunities for rising 9th graders, students who are soon entering high school. 

“This event was really special as it was the culmination of the Talent Bound’s work over this last year in the K-8 space with IPS where our focus was exposing students to the building and construction trades,” said Mechelle Polter, Senior Director of Talent Bound. “Today, students got to take the next step and apply what they’ve learned through hands-on activities.” As students engaged with various building trades employers and unions, they had the opportunity to interact with industry models as well as real-world scenarios such as masonry work, climbing a steel beam while harnessed, and more. 

Talent Bound is EmployIndy's vehicle to provide students in Marion County with access to authentic work-based learning experiences, leveraging EmployIndy's network of engaged businesses to provide activities that increase informed decision making and develop the critical skills needed to succeed in the future of work. During the 2021-22 academic year, over 21,800 work-based learning experiences were provided to Marion County students through Talent Bound. 

Work-based learning occurs as a continuum of growth for students and Talent Bound offers activities along three phases of that continuum to build their knowledge: career exposure, career engagement, and career experience. Considered a Talent Challenge, the LET’S BUILD! event took the previous career exposure work to the next level through providing the hands-on experiences.

“The Let's Build trades fair was an excellent opportunity for our incoming freshmen to gain hands-on experience and inspiration,” said Mel Coryell, Director of Academies and Pathways at IPS. “Our vision is for all IPS graduates to have a plan for and be prepared for a fulfilling future, and engaging with community partners and employers in this way is an essential step towards that vision.” Participating IPS schools included: Arsenal Technical High School, Crispus Attucks High School, George Washington High School, and Shortridge High School.

While students were getting their hands dirty and learning about available careers in the construction industry, local employers were working to build new talent pipelines by putting their industry in front of young adults who are eager to find their path.

“The LET’S BUILD! Construction Camp was a huge success and is an example of the growing relationship between the ICCA and EmployIndy’s Talent Bound program,” said Lynn Busby, Director of Community Outreach at Indiana Careers in Construction. “These events are important in supporting the union construction industry as employers get a chance to create industry exposure and develop new avenues for finding talent.” 

The following organizations participated in the event by providing hands-on experiences for the students:

• Bricklayers & Allied Craft Workers Local 4 (BAC4) 
• Harmon Construction Inc.
• Harmon Steel Inc.
• Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC)
• Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 481 (IBEW) 
• International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 34
• Ironworkers Local 22
• Laborers International Union of North America Local 120 (LiUna) 
• North Mechanical Contracting & Service
• Pepper Construction Company of Indiana LLC
• Sisters in the Brotherhood (IKORCC)
• Taylor Brother Construction Company Inc.
• UA Local 440 Plumbers, Steamfitters, & HVACR Service Technicians
• Weddle Brothers Construction Companies

This event was also made possible through in-kind contributions from the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis Indians, Kroger, Newfields, Northern Tool and Equipment, Papa John’s Pizza, and Tinker Coffee Co.

To learn more about available Talent Bound activities that help employers engage with students, visit https://www.talentbound.org.