In a room full of cheering automotive service technicians and career navigators, three young menwere given the opportunity to put pen to paper and take a big step in their professional journey. There was a palpable sense of excitement as well as relief as Jeff Klein, Service and Parts Director at Champion Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Indianapolis, handed them their offer letters. After seeing these young men put in the hard work and effort over the past week, Klein and his team offered encouragement, wisdom and importantly, a chance to join their team.
These three young men, along with several students participating at Ed Martin Buick GMC, each completed a weeklong Automotive Service Technician Training through YES Indy. These Industry Trainings provide students with the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a specific industry, build a foundation and work towards earning an employment offer. Since July 2020, roughly 45 individuals have completed one of the four Industry Trainings regularly offered by YES Indy: Automotive Service Technician Training, Construction Level-1 Generalist Training, Salesforce Administrator Training and Logistics Warehouse Associate Training.
“I loved it. I learned how to change oil, tires, brakes, and filters. My tech was good at answering my questions and I learned a lot.” said Marcus Lewis, a YES Indy participant who spent his time training at Champion Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.
“We’re very excited about what they’ve learned with us.” Said Kathy Cameron, Director of Fixed Operations at Ed Martin Buick GMC. YES Indy partners Champion Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram and Ed Martin Buick GMC, both located on Indy’s North side, are passionate about providing young people with the opportunity to explore new career fields and better themselves. “Tommie worked with two different automotive techs, with one being a GM World Class tech. Not many achieve that level.” Continued Cameron as she stood smiling next to Tommie, who had impressed during his week of training at Ed Martin Buick GMC. Thanks to his hard work and diligence, Tommie also received an offer of employment after completing his Industry Training.
Through a partnership between YES Indy, Flanner House of Indianapolis, Marian University and Nine13sports, participants not only had the opportunity to join the Automotive Service Technician Training, but also received several weeks of job readiness training, education support and career navigation through Flanner House programming. “Their growth in such a quick time frame is amazing. It’s wonderful to be able to put together a program where they can explore a new career field and make it into something that can sustain them for life.” Said Sibeko Jywanza, Director of Food Justice for Flanner House of Indianapolis.
Through the YES Indy Power Huddle, young persons are provided the tools to develop important employability and life skills as well as earn two Job Ready Indy badges: Mindsets and Social Skills. Both the YES Indy Power Huddle and YES Indy Industry Trainings are available for Marion County youth ages 16 – 24 who are not attending high school or college.
Twenty-six students throughout Central Indiana sign a certificate of acceptance as they begin their apprenticeship journey
Event recording
INDIANAPOLIS (May 15, 2021) – This morning at Ben Davis High School, 26 Central Indiana high school sophomores signed the Modern Apprenticeship certificate of acceptance to work as apprentices for 16 local employer partners*, piloting the first-ever cohort of EmployIndy’s Central Indiana youth apprenticeship program, Modern Apprenticeship. Of the 100+ students that expressed interest, these 26 apprentices were chosen among their peers to participate in Modern Apprenticeship, a two- to three-year paid experience launched in coordination with Ascend Indiana in Fall 2020. EmployIndy, Marion County’s workforce development board, and Ascend Indiana, the talent and workforce development initiative of Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), actively support the apprentices, employers, and general programmatic outcomes for Modern Apprenticeship.
Click to see recording from event.
For the apprentices, the journey will officially kick off this summer as they attend a bootcamp to develop their employability skills and start their jobs at their new employers. Beginning their junior year of high school, apprentices will split their time between the classroom and the workplace. By the end of the experience, they will have obtained not only a high school diploma and invaluable social capital, they will also earn industry-recognized credentials and transferable college credits.
“The Modern Apprenticeship opportunity is an excellent example of K-12, higher education, and industry partners strategically working together to help Hoosier students maximize their success,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “Student-centered, future-focused partnerships like this are essential to helping students access quality work-based learning and earn postsecondary credentials while they’re still in high school.”
Today, at the inaugural Modern Apprenticeship Signing Day, both apprentices and employers signed a formal certificate of acceptance, signifying the beginning of their journey together. As part of this commitment, the employer will mentor and support the student as they navigate an in-demand role within the organization. Through their participation in Modern Apprenticeship, these employers demonstrate their commitment to being co-producers of talent alongside education partners.
“We’re excited to witness this program’s progress and evolution during its pilot year,” said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. “The City of Indianapolis is proud to be part of the first cohort of employers to hire an apprentice who, beginning this summer, will work part-time as a member of our staff.”
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 and Ascend have partnered with regional and national career readiness initiatives to pilot a program that provides students with quality, integrated work experiences combined with classroom learning that will prepare young people for a successful transition to college and jobs of the future.
“As the economy continues to evolve due to automation and globalization, it is increasingly critical to ensure all students in Indianapolis have access to education and training that align with changing employer demand.” said Jason Kloth, president and CEO, Ascend Indiana. “Modern Apprenticeship is a responsive model that can be expanded to create work-based learning opportunities for youth across the state.”
Ascend Indiana and EmployIndy are continuing to partner closely to grow the program, increasing engaged schools, apprentices, and employer partners as they strategize for the 2022 cohort.
“EmployIndy is excited to celebrate our inaugural class of apprentices today,” said Marie Mackintosh, chief strategy officer, EmployIndy. “Our employer partners are thrilled to welcome the students into the workplace where they will add value while building skills on the job. As our economy continues to recover and demand for talent increases, we look forward to scaling the Modern Apprenticeship program in Central Indiana and creating more real-world experiences that benefit students, employers, and our community.”
Congratulations to the first cohort of Modern Apprenticeship students:
- Akinwale Adesakin, George Washington High School – Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS)
- Daniel Camacho, Ben Davis High School – Katz Sapper & Miller (KSM)
- Jordyn Collins, Pike High School – OneAmerica
- Ja’Kyra Cox, George Washington High School – Ivy Tech Community College
- Ramiro Delgado, Arsenal Technical High School – Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS)
- Salematou Diaby, Pike High School – EmployIndy
- Aanaiah Evans, North Central High School – Roche Diagnostics
- Ruby Galvan, Ben Davis High School – City of Indianapolis
- Melanie Garcia, North Central High School – EmployIndy
- Isaiah Gebrekidan, Victory College Prep – Ivy Tech Community College
- Anthony Golden, North Central High School – TechPoint
- Nicholas Graves, Ben Davis High School – Indy Chamber
- Nyema Hillman, North Central High School – Ascension/St. Vincent
- Kinaya Hines, North Central High School – Roche Diagnostics
- Clarissa Hunt, Pike High School – Pepper Construction
- Sydney Johnson, North Central High School – Ascension/St. Vincent
- Virginia Martinez, North Central High School – Ascension/St. Vincent
- Evelyn Ogundare, Ben Davis High School – Roche Diagnostics
- Abigail Ortiz Amado, Ben Davis High School – AES Indiana
- Zion Peterson, North Central High School – OneAmerica
- Sophia Pimental, Pike High School – Ascension/St. Vincent
- Ariana Rodriguez Shinault, George Washington High School – Ascend Indiana
- Fatoumata Sylla, Pike High School – Skillful Indiana
- Jada Taylor, George Washington High School – Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS)
- Will Valentine, North Central High School – Ascend Indiana
- Morgan Wilson, North Central High School – Indianapolis Airport Authority
*Participating Employers: AES Indiana, Ascend Indiana, Ascension St. Vincent, City of Indianapolis, EmployIndy, Katz Sapper & Miller, Indianapolis Airport Authority, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), Indy Chamber, Ivy Tech Community College, OneAmerica, Pepper Construction, Roche Diagnostics, Skillful Indiana, TechPoint, and The Heritage Group
Participating Indianapolis-area Township School Districts and Charter Schools: Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), Phalen Leadership Academy, Pike High School, Victory College Prep, Washington Township, and Wayne Township
To learn more about Modern Apprenticeship (MAP), visit www.indymodernapprenticeship.com.
Posted on April 30th, 2021 in
Uncategorized The article was originally published on nyec.org.
By Rashaun Bennett and Thomas Showalter | April 30, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic shows signs of abating in the United States, but other crises remain. Youth unemployment remains nearly double the overall unemployment rate (March 2021 11.1% vs. the overall rate of 6%), and the triple pandemic has had devastating effects on the mental health of young people (and the adults who work with them).
Today NYEC is releasing a report that details how several youth workforce agencies approached integrating three approaches that are informed by the science of adolescent brain development: executive skill development (ES), positive youth development (PYD), and trauma-informed care (TIC), collectively referred to as EPT approaches. These approaches are defined as EPT:
- Executive function skills are “the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.”
- Positive Youth Development is an intentional pro-social approach that engages youth within their communities in a manner that recognizes a youth’s strengths and provide opportunities to foster positive relationships and stronger leadership skills.
- Trauma-informed care is a service delivery approach “that is grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma, ultimately creating opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment.
The Translating Adolescent Brain Science (TABS) project engaged six community-based organizations (CBOs) in Indianapolis and Phoenix. Intermediaries in each city –EmployIndy and Opportunities for Youth, respectively – supported their work. Pathways Consultants provided access to coaches for staff of each organization. The project began in early March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, and coincided with the protests around police violence in the summer 2020.
EPT approaches resulted in a variety of changes to programming. At Keys to Work in Indianapolis, staff worked with youth on executive skills assessments. These helped them explore their strengths and struggles, which in turn helped them build confidence in succeeding in areas that previously caused them doubt, such as education courses. Unexpected outcomes emerged when Opportunities for Youth, the Phoenix intermediary, used positive youth development techniques to task youth with designing their own convening. As a result, rather than workforce programming or educational disruptions, the convening focused on timely issues of mental health and suicide prevention. The Community Alliance of the Far Eastside, in Indianapolis, organized virtual events with youth and community police officers to help the youth reclaim their power and understand their traumatic challenges from the personal to the systemic.
The TABS Project highlighted several areas for further work in translating adolescent brain science to practice:
- Providing CBOs with the capacity needed to reorient their cultures around EPT approaches.
- Deepening documentation of best practices in the workforce development context, especially for trauma-informed care and executive skills.
- Beginning to identify metrics or ways of measuring the infusion and impact of these practices.
- Enabling system-wide adoption of EPT approaches, with attendant trainings, learning communities.
- Exploring each approach and how it might be incorporated at different ages for youth and young adults, and work to make the tools relevant to those ages.
The TABS Project offered organizations a new lens on youth development, as well as a set of tools to support youth towards employment and education. Applying the lessons of this project, youth and young adult workforce organizations have the opportunity to improve education and employment outcomes by aligning their practice with what we know of adolescent brain development. We invite other communities to join the journey.
