Nothing brings people together in Indiana more than a good game of basketball. When two teams tipped off the 2023 YES Indy Pivot League championship game at Mount Carmel Church in Indianapolis, the gym was filled with excitement as spectators were treated to a high-energy game. During halftime, EmployIndy's Executive Vice President of Workforce Solutions, Rev. Rodney Francis, and District 14 Councillor, La Keisha Jackson, recognized this year’s sponsors for their support in elevating the Pivot League and local community efforts. The evening concluded with an awards ceremony where the winning team, representing the Community Alliance of the Far Eastside (CAFE), was awarded a check for $3,000.

The YES Indy PIVOT League is an 8-week basketball league, first launched in 2021, designed to bring young adults into a safe place where they can build relationships and connect to services that help them move forward in their education and career. In Central Indiana, there are roughly 30,000 Opportunity Youth, or young people, ages 16-24, who are not currently engaged in education or the workforce. The mission of EmployIndy’s “Youth Employment System” (YES), and the Pivot League, is to create a positive trajectory for these young adults by getting them re-engaged and providing opportunities and pathways to prepare them for future success. 

“The PIVOT League grew out of our Re-Engagement Centers (RECs), which offer open gym basketball as a workforce recruitment strategy to re-engage disconnected young adults,” said Rev. Francis. “It’s the only league primarily focused on improving players' stats off the court.” To participate in the League, young adults must “pivot” towards engagement in education by enrolling in a GED/HSE program, college, industry training, or YES Indy, or by being connected to gainful employment.

“I signed up for the basketball league because I think my team can win it,” said Duran Lewis, Pivot League participant. “ I also recently completed a Power Huddle with YES Indy and I got some good life lessons out of it. It taught me to be myself, keep pushing, and most of all to be grateful. Right now I am in the YouthBuild program and I enrolled to get my GED through Edna Martin Christian Center at Martin University.”

One way that YES Indy helps to break down mindset barriers for young people, regardless of their history, is through the YES Indy Power Huddle program, a two-week job readiness experience where individuals learn how they can change their future trajectory as well as develop a variety of employability skills that will help them map out and work towards reaching their academic, career, and life goals. For young people like Duran, getting involved on the court through open gyms at a YES Indy REC or through participating in the Pivot League often leads to getting connected to helpful programs and services off the court, like the Power Huddle.

“The City League understands the power that basketball holds in our culture. We are excited to work with EmployIndy to bring high-level basketball to the young men of Indianapolis, while also helping participants get connected to people and training, giving them the necessary opportunities to move forward in life.” said Austin Taylor, Executive Director of The City League. As a key partner and organizer for the Pivot League, The City League’s reputation as a leader in organizing high-level basketball in our city has been an important asset as the Pivot League seeks to attract players and fans.

EmployIndy’s partnership with Mt. Carmel Church has also been a key component of the league as it seeks to create a safe space for players to grow off the court as well as on it. “Mt. Carmel Church is a church of the community, finding ways to demonstrate our love for God and our neighbor through education and socially, and financially empowering our community,” said Rev. Lola Bartlett, a Mt. Carmel Church staff member. “Working with YES Indy and The City League helps us in fulfilling our mission by educating our young men and providing them with a constructive place to practice being a team in the game and in life.“

The Pivot League would like to extend a big thank you to this year’s volunteers and organizations that make this collaborative league possible. This year’s sponsors include Finish Line Foundation, Training for Success LLC, Turner Housing, Mt. Carmel Church, EmployIndy, CAFE, FASTENAL, and Heritage Group.

The Pivot League will return in the Spring of 2024, but YES Indy RECs and The City League will continue to offer ongoing opportunities for young people in our city, through open gym sessions at the YES Indy RECs and other basketball tournaments throughout the year via The City League. If you’re a young person looking to get connected to employment services, visit the YES Indy website.

For Indianapolis employers or community partners who are interested in participating and sponsoring the 2024 Pivot League, please fill out the league sponsor form.

Close to fifty employers from eleven different industries joined EmployIndy for a sunny and warm outdoor career fair at George Washington High School on Friday, May 5.

Roughly 450 students ranging from freshmen to seniors circulated around the track, talking with employers, to learn about immediate and long-term educational and professional opportunities that are available in Central Indiana.

“It’s so rewarding to see all of these professionals get involved and engaged with students as they explore options for the next phase of their lives,” said EmployIndy’s Talent Bound Manager, Tressie Kaufman, who helped coordinate the event.

EmployIndy's Talent Bound program partners with the local business community to provide career exploration and career-connected learning opportunities for young people that not only increase informed decision making and help them develop critical skills needed to succeed in the future of work, but also provides employers an avenue to be proactive in developing a talent pipeline for their organization.

EmployIndy encourages its business partners to engage with Talent Bound in multiple ways as it provides a wide range of ways to get involved, including: talent talks, talent prep, talent prep, talent mentors, talent tours, talent shadows, talent challenges, talent internships, talent apprenticeships, and talent hires.

Career fairs fall under the “talent day” umbrella, where employers or industry professionals can share information about a specific company, workplace responsibilities, and job skills in effort to allow young people to explore future career pathways.

EmployIndy caught up with two of the businesses participating at the event, Viant and Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBank Indianapolis) to learn more about what brought them to the career fair on a Friday morning.

Viant’s HR Generalist, Alexia Prokopos, said she came “to get the word out” about her company, as there is a concern about filling their talent behind upcoming retirees. Viant manufactures medical devices, and Prokopos emphasized that the company provides partial tuition reimbursement to employees who wish to pursue higher education and that it prioritizes internal development and promotions for their workers.

Meanwhile, FHLBank Indianapolis HR Generalist Emily Thomas described her institution as a “bank for other financial institutions” with about 260 employees in Indianapolis. She emphasized that tellers and financial advisors are not among those job titles. Instead, needs at FHLBank Indianapolis range from technical roles like computer engineering and IT to business and financial roles like business intelligence and risk analysts. Roles like these require bachelor’s degrees, but Thomas was also promoting the company’s internship program and said that she also just enjoyed talking with students and learning more about what they are interested in.

Amazon, FedEx Ground, IU Health, YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, Adidas Warehouse, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Ed Martin, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Nissan, Kroger, the Indiana Air National Guard, Eli Lilly, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, Project Indy and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department are a few of the organizations that also had a presence at the event.

Visit www.talentbound.org/activities to learn more about the range of career-connected learning activities through which your business can begin to develop a new talent pipeline. To get started, reach out to our Business Partnerships at businesspartnerships@nullemployindy.org or visit our team webpage to learn more.

INDIANAPOLIS – April 27, 2023 – This morning, Mayor Joe Hogsett, the Office of Minority and Women Business Development, EmployIndy, and over 75 local employers gathered at the 22nd Annual Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards to recognize employers who demonstrate inclusivity in the workplace and are dedicated to supporting diverse individuals and continuing progress in our community. This year’s event took place in-person at Ivy Tech Community College, with over 425 in attendance to hear local leaders share insights, success stories, and best practices for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.

This event places a special emphasis on the importance of supporting youth employment in Marion County as proceeds go to support Project Indy, an initiative developed by Mayor Joe Hogsett in 2016 and housed within EmployIndy. Through Project Indy’s virtual platform that utilizes text messaging to recruit and onboard job seekers, nearly 15,000 young adults in Marion County have been connected to work experiences that build their employability skills and allow them to explore new career fields.

“Now more than ever, we must recognize the Indianapolis organizations that bring people together, honor our full community, and value diverse perspectives,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett. “And just as we have every year since 2016, this event will benefit ProjectIndy – the City’s youth employability initiative, benefiting thousands of young adults since it was launched.”

In recognizing employers who have made exceptional efforts to demonstrate diversity, equity, and inclusivity in their workplaces, six awards were given with unique focuses including celebrating the impact of youth apprenticeships, good wages and employee support, excelling in youth employment, diversity in leadership, and a focus on workplace culture.

“We’re honored to play a pivotal role in recognizing employers who have invested in equitable practices around hiring, leadership, quality jobs and culture,” said Marie Mackintosh, president & CEO of EmployIndy. “Our collaborative work with these employers will only grow larger as EmployIndy remains committed to ensuring sustainable and scalable interventions that systemically address some of the root causes for equity gaps in educational attainment, in good and promising jobs, and for our city’s youth.”

Two new awards were added to this year’s event; the Choice Employer award and the Dr. Mechelle Polter Youth Apprenticeship Employer of the Year, with the latter carrying special significance due to the recent unexpected loss of Dr. Mechelle Polter, Senior Director of EmployIndy’s Talent Bound program. This award honors her passion and tireless effort to empower youth and young adults to make informed decisions about their future and serves to recognize employers who carry on her legacy through their dedication to advancing youth apprenticeships in our community. This year’s award recipients are as follows:

• “Dr. Mechelle Polter Youth Apprenticeship Employer of the Year” was awarded to Ascension St. Vincent for their dedication to providing high school students with a positive trajectory to actively pursue a career by providing valuable, paid apprenticeship opportunities that complement their traditional coursework.

• “Choice Employer” was awarded to Indianapolis Airport Authority for offering all full-time employees a good wage of $18 an hour and benefits and embodies the traits of “Choice Employer,” by creating a work environment that focuses on supporting Career Pathways, Culture and Diversity, and Employee Resources.

• “Excellence in Youth Employment” was awarded to TeenWorks for their commitment to offering youth and young adults in Indianapolis the opportunity for that first job and embraces a culture that promotes the personal growth of those individuals through mentoring and advancement

• “Diversity in Workforce” was awarded to Morales Group, Inc Staffing who, in the past year, successfully implemented best practices to support workforce diversity.

• “Diversity in Leadership” was awarded to Indianapolis Public Schools who cultivated an atmosphere of growth, particularly when considering upper-level diversity as well as actively supporting a diverse organizational culture.

• “Sam H. Jones ‘Best of the Best’” was awarded to Eli Lilly and Company for exemplary performance in all aspects of diversity.

Individuals who are interested in supporting youth employment in Marion County through Project Indy can donate online at www.employindy.org/mcod-donate. More information about Project Indy can be found at projectindy.net.