EmployIndy is opening a new YES Indy Re-Engagement Center (REC) at Watkins Park Community Center on the Westside of Indianapolis on January 30th. This REC location will replicate the YES Indy REC at the Finish Line Boys and Girls Club. Since its opening in 2018, the Far Eastside location has served over 2,000 Opportunity Youth and acted as an access point for re-engagement services. Over 30,000 Opportunity Youth in Central Indiana, young adults ages 16 to 24, are either disengaged from education, the workforce, or both.

The Watkins Park REC will offer free open gym basketball as a hook to engage Opportunity Youth while creating a safe space to socialize and participate in recreation. REC staff are able to create trusting and meaningful relationships with participants, and it is through these relationships that staff have the opportunity to direct participants to additional career services. With a YES Indy site neighboring the Watkins REC location, open gym participants will have convenient access to YES Indy services at Flanner House, a community-based service partner. 

“In collaboration with the City Parks and Recreation Department, Training for Success, Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), and Flanner House, EmployIndy is thrilled to open the YES Indy REC at Watkins Park,” says Reverend Rodney T. Francis, Chief Programs Officer at EmployIndy. “This second REC location means that we are able to expand our education, workforce services, and job opportunities to more young people looking for a career path in the city's Near Westside.” 

YES Indy RECs bring together a network of community-based organizations as career service providers offering career navigation, including work experiences, access to training and education, and wrap-around services. After joining the REC, participants are encouraged to participate in the Power Huddle, an empowerment experience in which Opportunity Youth meet with an instructor to build confidence and employability skills. Participants engage with mentors and earn some of the Job Ready Indy badges, expanding their employability skills and self-awareness. The Power Huddle and Job Ready Indy training readies these young people to pursue career experiences or education and includes two years of follow-up services and check-ins with mentors.

Open Gyms hours of operation are every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 2 PM, during the summer hours will switch to the evening and will be posted at the gym. An open house for sponsors, staff, and participants is planned for Saturday, April 22nd.

Employers are finding innovative ways to build their employment pipelines, and one of those is by hiring youth apprentices. In Marion County, the Modern Apprenticeship (MAP) program– led by EmployIndy and Ascend Indiana– has set a goal of 60 employers hiring a total of 100 apprentices for 2023-24.

Modern Apprenticeship 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.

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. 

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

When students graduate from the Modern Apprenticeship program, they earn industry credentials as well as tangible skills that will stay with them throughout the duration of their careers.

“The healthcare industry is having a great challenge in not only finding highly qualified talent but retaining them, as well. All 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 can develop their own, diverse talent and create opportunities for growth while engaging young people and improving retention through this new way of hiring. 

“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.”

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

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

Early last month, the White House welcomed 75 representatives from a cohort of over 200 industry, labor, and community-based organizations as well as educators, employers, and workforce intermediaries to the launch of the Biden-Harris administration’s Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative. 

EmployIndy was among the participating organizations from across the nation invited to attend the launch event, exhibiting our commitment to strengthening and diversifying Registered Apprenticeship. Registered Apprenticeship is a high-quality,  equitable earn-and-learn model that provides workers with on-the-job learning experience, job-related instruction with a mentor, and a clear pathway to a good-paying job. The programs include a nationally-recognized credential system that helps employers hire a more demographically diverse workforce across 40 in-demand industries.

Dr. Mechelle Polter, Senior Director, Talent Bound, attended the Apprenticeship Ambassador launch, which began with an address by First Lady Jill Biden, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. The remarks were followed by a panel facilitated by Brent Parton, Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor, and included various leaders such as Yellow Corp. CEO, Darren Hawkins, and Trident Technical College President, Dr. Mary Thornley.

“The Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative is an excellent opportunity for EmployIndy to continue to develop our apprenticeship offerings,” says Dr. Polter. “As an Apprenticeship Ambassador, we will be able to help even more residents and businesses through apprenticeship experiences that create sustainable career pathways and build diverse talent pipelines.”

The entire cohort of Apprenticeship Ambassadors will work to help other business, labor, and education leaders launch similar programs throughout the next year. Apprenticeship Ambassadors will also increase the accessibility of Registered Apprenticeship programs for underserved and underrepresented populations, including women, youth, people of color, people with disabilities, and more. 

EmployIndy will use our expertise as an Apprenticeship Ambassador to scale innovative apprenticeship practices, such as those through the Modern Apprenticeship program. As employer demand for highly-skilled talent continues to grow, it is necessary to establish a system of career-connected learning that will create equitable opportunities for all Indianapolis students. EmployIndy's Modern Apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship programs do just that. 

“Not only do apprentices gain sustainable employment with a positive career trajectory, but employers attract, retain, and maintain skilled and diverse talent,” says Dr. Polter. “Our Marion County students benefit from quality, on-the-job learning while our business community thrives with young, skilled talent.” 

To learn more, about the Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative, visit https://www.apprenticeship.gov/apprenticeship-ambassador-initiative.