Recent News & Blog

Posted on June 30th, 2022 in Success Story

“MAP is like a Willy Wonka golden ticket that employers just have to cash in,” says Chad Smith, Chief Personnel Officer at Plastic Recycling, Inc. “The high quality and character of the applicants we have seen just blew my mind. The focus and maturity of the students we interviewed have been really impressive.” 

Modern Apprenticeship combines on-the-job learning with paid employment, college credit, and the prospect of earning industry credentials. Not only does the program give students a unique ability to multiply their options after high school, but it also allows employers to tap into diverse pools of young talent and invest in building quality talent pipelines. 

In the fall of 2020, EmployIndy partnered with Ascend Indiana to launch Modern Apprenticeship, also known as MAP, a three-year program that offers many pathways to success by ensuring Marion County high school students have the requisite skills they need to thrive in the growing 21st-century industries like financial services, business operations, healthcare, and information technology. Over 30 employers from Marion County participate in the Modern Apprenticeship program, including Plastic Recycling, which has offered four Youth Apprentices for Cohort II.

Plastic Recycling, Inc. was established in 1988 as the need for quality and economic methods of plastic recycling continued to grow. The company sought to not only benefit the environment but invest in premier customer services as well. Today, Plastic Recycling, Inc. retains the same principles of focusing and committing to excellence as the founders used when launching the company almost four decades ago. 

Chad Smith, Chief Personnel Officer at Plastic Recycling, has participated in Modern Apprenticeship since its launch. Smith indicated that the program provided Plastic Recycling with the opportunity to expand its external partnerships while investing in local youth. The company was thrilled to connect with Marion County schools as a source of qualified talent. 

“We have extended 2 offers for Maintenance Tech through the Modern Apprenticeship program which is a position in high demand yet low supply of qualified workers,” says Smith.  “We have had difficulty finding individuals with experience or expertise in the area. I see MAP as a way to grow our own and meet our talent needs.”

Plastic Recycling currently processes 100 million pounds a year of recycled materials a year and is looking to grow to 400 million pounds of recycled materials to keep out of landfills. But, the organization needs to develop team members to scale its capacity to that extent. Along with the Maintenance Tech positions, Plastic Recycling is also hiring Youth Apprentices for an HR Associate and Manufacturing Tech. 

Is your organization looking to invest in its short- and long–term talent strategies? Connect with the Business Partnerships team at EmployIndy to find out how you can get involved with programs like Modern Apprenticeship.

 


Posted on June 25th, 2022 in Events, Press Releases

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind (June 25, 2022) – This morning at Ivy Tech Community College –  Indianapolis, 37 Central Indiana high school sophomores signed the Modern Apprenticeship certificate of acceptance to work as apprentices for 29 local employer partners*, launching the second cohort of EmployIndy’s Central Indiana youth apprenticeship program. 

Modern Apprenticeship is a three-year program that offers many pathways to success by ensuring Central Indiana high school students have the fundamental skills they need to thrive in growing 21st-century industries like financial services, business operations, healthcare, information technology, and more. 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.

The Modern Apprenticeship program is the highest-caliber experience offered through Talent Bound, EmployIndy’s work-based learning continuum that connects Marion County students to local employers, ensuring that the young adults in the Indianapolis area are empowered to discover their passions and strengths while learning the needs of today’s workforce. Youth apprenticeships prepare students for their future by providing them with in-demand skills and relevant job experience so they can thrive in a fast-changing job market.

“Modern Apprenticeship has placed nearly 40 youth apprentices to date, with the goal of connecting 60 apprentices to employers by the fall,” says Marie Mackintosh, chief strategy officer at EmployIndy. “We are so excited to watch Cohort two grow as each apprentice enters into this next chapter of their personal and professional life.”

These apprentices were chosen from over 100 applicants to join the students already participating in Modern Apprenticeship. Beginning their junior year of high school, apprentices split their time between the classroom and the workplace. Upon completion of the Modern Apprenticeship program, these apprentices will earn a high school diploma, college credits, and an industry-recognized credential while obtaining invaluable social capital that multiplies their professional and personal postsecondary options.

“Alongside Modern Apprenticeship, Ascend convenes a Youth Apprenticeship Community of Practice, which consists of 60 organizations and serves to identify barriers to starting and scaling modern youth apprenticeship programs statewide,” says Stephanie Bothun, vice president of consulting at Ascend Indiana. “Together with EmployIndy, we are opening doors for Indiana students to education and career pathways that will lead to good jobs for their future, while also creating a new talent pipeline for employers.”

Modern Apprenticeship’s 2022 Signing Day signifies the beginning of the apprentice and employer journey as they signed a formal certificate of acceptance. As part of this commitment, the employer will mentor and support the student as they navigate an in-demand role within the respective organization. Through their participation in Modern Apprenticeship, these employers have signaled a strong commitment to being co-producers of talent alongside education partners. 

“The typical four-year degree is a good pathway for some, but Indiana is home to many other forms of higher education that provide more equitable options to achieve a postsecondary degree or credential,” says Chris Lowery, commissioner at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. “The skills that young people learn through apprenticeship go beyond that of a classroom to provide real-world experience in high-demand industries and roles. These experiences will strengthen their statures as accomplished candidates for the in-demand jobs of the future.”

As a talent strategy, Modern Apprenticeship helps employers tap into diverse pools of young talent and build strong talent pipelines to meet their short- and long-term staffing needs. The program creates a structure for employers to be part of workforce solutions while removing barriers so that all Marion County students have equitable access to career-ready training and jobs in high-demand fields. Young talent is able to enrich their career-ready skills and job experience while, simultaneously, allowing businesses to identify, train, and retain job candidates as they progress from entry-level jobs to highly skilled positions.

To learn more about Modern Apprenticeship (MAP), visit www.indymodernapprenticeship.com.

*Participating Employers:

Participating Indianapolis-area Township School Districts and Charter Schools


About EmployIndy

EmployIndy guides the local workforce ecosystem and makes strategic investments to remove barriers to quality employment for underserved and underrepresented residents. Our vision is for all Marion County residents to have access to services and training necessary to secure a livable wage and grow in a career that meets employer demand for talent. As the workforce development board for Marion County, guided by 26 business, civic, education, and nonprofit community leaders, EmployIndy invests over $20 million in public, private and philanthropic funds for both youth and adults annually. Learn more at employindy.org.

About Ascend Indiana

An initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), Ascend Indiana is committed to making Indiana a place of economic opportunity for all. Ascend connects job seekers to good and promising career opportunities through an innovative job-matching platform, the Ascend Network; catalyzes partnerships and provides consulting services to meet high-demand workforce needs through Ascend Services; and conducts research through Ascend Insights to enable systems-level change that positively impacts individuals throughout the state. To learn more, visit ascendindiana.com.   


Posted on June 24th, 2022 in Events, Success Story

On Tuesday, June 14th, over 60 students, family, and friends gathered at the Indianapolis Zoo for the 2022 Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Senior Send-Off, which honors Marion County JAG students for completing programming during the 2021-22 school year. JAG is a state-affiliated program based on a national model, available to juniors and seniors in high school that teaches them resume building, career exploration, and creates available tools for students to explore different curricula. JAG’s mission is to keep young people in school through graduation and provide work-based learning experiences that will lead to career advancement opportunities, or to enroll in a postsecondary institution that leads to a rewarding career.

“We are thrilled to honor the graduating JAG class of 2022,” said Beth Bowling, Director of K-12 at EmployIndy. “These students have persisted in overcoming more challenges than generations of students before them. We can’t wait to see the exciting achievements we know this class will complete by reaching the academic and career goals they established through JAG.”

The Senior Send-Off also provided Marion County JAG students with the opportunity to participate in prize raffles and further connect with their assigned JAG specialist. All enrolled JAG students are provided a specialist to help them work towards removing educational barriers that may prevent them from graduating or pursuing a particular post-secondary or employment pathway after high school. 

​​“One of the great parts of JAG is the follow-up support,” said Crispus Attucks JAG senior James Vann-Mincy, who also emceed the event. For a full year after graduation, JAG students receive support and contact from their specialists and the JAG team, to offer assistance as they transition into the workforce and/or elect to further their education.

During the event, two JAG seniors were honored with the Jessica Brown Memorial JAG Award. DaShaun Russell from True North Academy and Nevaeh Smith from Shortridge High School received this distinction, which recognizes excellence throughout the program year and offers a $1,000 award from EmployIndy to help them continue in their academic and career goals.

Thank you to our wonderful JAG sponsors, Duke Realty, The Indiana National Guard, and Regions Bank, as well as our partnering organizations EmployIndy, The Indiana Department of Workforce Development, and Transition Resources Corporation, for helping make this event possible.

You can learn more about Jobs for America’s Graduates in Marion County by visiting: https://employindy.org/youth-services/jag.

 


TIF Training Grants

The funding for TIF Training Grants comes from the NextLevel Jobs program, overseen by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. These grantees are reimbursed for their work to hire, train, and retain Indianapolis workers. It removes the financial barriers that many employers face during the hiring process and allows them to provide opportunities for growth and employee success throughout the training process.

Story of Impact

Increasing Employer and Workforce Engagement

The vision behind NextLevel Jobs stems from the need to engage the current workforce and provide individuals with opportunities to grow within their company. In order to receive reimbursement for hiring and training, the employee must stay on for at minimum six months.

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