Spring is upon us, and as summer gets closer, young adults are starting to think about summer jobs and other opportunities for growth. On March 11, Congressman André Carson hosted his sixth annual Youth Opportunities Fair at the Central Library to help Indianapolis youth find these job, learning, and volunteer opportunities, with over 75 organizations attending. Young adults also participated in sessions designed to help them with interviewing skills and resume review.

Amanda Finch from the YMCA explained how volunteering can help youth get their “foot in the door.” Skills learned at a volunteering position or job with the YMCA can transfer into real life situations.  “One of our most popular positions is lifeguarding. We teach them so many valuable life skills and safety skills that can branch out beyond what they do in their role at the Y – they could save somebody’s life.”

Many jobs, including those at YMCA, Indy Parks, FedEx, Kroger, and more, are filled by connections made through Project Indy, Mayor Joe Hogsett’s youth jobs program. EmployIndy staff were on-site helping young adults sign up and download the Project Indy app to get them started.

Representatives from Indy Parks and Kroger emphasized the variety of opportunities available to youth as they work their way up from entry-level positions. “A lot of the people in our positions started as 16 year old lifeguards and cashiers and worked their way up, so getting a job at Indy Parks could be a career move,” said Will Hollowell from Rhodius Park. “The best skill I’ve found is just people who want to work. Being excited about work is a key attribute that many teens possess.”

Matt Mueller landed his first job bagging groceries at Kroger twenty-four years ago, and has found various opportunities to continue his career there since. “People think that sometimes working for Kroger is just bagging groceries or stocking milk or whatever it may be, but it’s so much more than that. You can work in Human Resources and Marketing and Transportation and Logistics – any career you could ever want, you could do that under the Kroger umbrella – starting from the single utility clerk job bagging groceries,” he explained.

As hundreds of young adults browsed the aisles, most were able to walk away with a lead or an idea of where to aim next. Not everyone will find their dream summer job – but exposure to these opportunities available is important as they continue to learn and think about a future job, education, or career.

Andre Allen from FedEx Ground offered a bit of succinct advice: “Stay persistent – we’re always looking for new talent.”

The Indiana State Summit: Creating Career Pathways for All Students on Wednesday, December 12th hosted local, state, and international experts, including EmployIndy President Angela Carr Klitzsch, who spoke about the importance of building a rigorous system of career and technical education and work-based learning opportunities for all students and adult learners.

Throughout the day, the leaders speaking on panels focused on key points:

• Quality apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities cannot be built overnight.
• Doing and learning (via work-based learning) simultaneously produces the best results.
• Relationships forged between employers and educators are crucial.
• Using common language and terminology is necessary for clear, successful communication.
• The stigma against career and technical education in the U.S. needs to be addressed.
• Students learning about what they don’t want to do is a part of the educational experience, but the earlier those realizations can happen, the better off they will be.

Angela Carr Klitzsch discussed EmployIndy’s partnership with IPS to scale a comprehensive work-and-learn system at their academies. She also noted that workforce development boards, like EmployIndy, are poised to be the intermediary between education and industry, bridging the gap in order to ensure the creation of quality work-based learning opportunities. The panel, entitled “Indiana Action on CTE & Apprenticeships: Models to Expand,” was moderated by Claire Fiddian-Green, President of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, and included Director of Pathways for Students and Adults at Horizon Education Alliance Jason Harrison, Ivy Tech Vice President of K-12 Initiatives and Statewide Partnerships Katie Jenner, and Conexus Chief Talent Programs Officer Brad Rhorer.

If you are interested in connecting your business to work-based learning, connect with one of our employer engagement specialists. Also, check out a collection of tweets from the event below, and be sure to follow us at @EmployIndy.

Dec 12 Indiana Career Summit

EmployIndy partners with Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) on several of workforce-ready initiatives. This partnership aims to break down barriers and make it possible for all individuals to receive adult basic education and actively enroll in a variety of training programs in order to further their skill set. Five years ago, the state General Assembly unanimously passed a bill to shift adult education to DWD, a move aimed to address both the recession and the looming talent gap that Indiana was facing.

At the Indiana Statehouse today WorkINdiana celebrated 6,000 completions and 5,000 certifications in five years.

Speaking at the event was EmployIndy COO Marie Mackintosh, Associate COO of Adult Education with the Department of Workforce Development Marilyn Pitzulo, and Ivy Tech's Madison Campus Chancellor Molly Dodge. They provided background on WorkINdiana and the dynamic shift to focusing on industry-recognized credentials so adult education could be seen as a stepping stone toward a career.

“Our vision was to serve students at any time, any place, at any pace.”

Marie Mackintosh, EmployIndy Chief Operations Officer

Then they passed the mic to three WorkINdiana participants: Brittany Young, Paul Powell, and Sarah White. These individuals shared their personal journeys and talked about where they are now because of the opportunities gained through WorkINdiana.

• Brittany Young attributes her confidence to the people who helped her along the way. “I developed relationships and gained emotional support all through this program.” As a  2014 WorkINdiana participant from southern Indiana, she completed entry welder training and landed a job at Vehicle Service Group as a Cell Coordinator.
• Paul Powell, a 2018 participant from Indianapolis, talks about quick results. “It is good to know that [WorkOne Indy] showed up when I needed it.” All within 6 months, he obtained his HSE, CDL-A certification, and started work at Eby-Brown as a CDL driver.
• Sarah White spoke to the 3 month Medical Assistant training she completed right out of high school in 2018. “It was a jumpstart to my career.” She is currently at Greene County Hospital where she is employed as a certified Clinical Medical Assistant.

WorkINdiana is just one of many ways that EmployIndy is working to skill-up Marion County's workforce. Recently, EmployIndy was awarded $125,000 of Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding from DWD in order to remove barriers for employers, service providers, and job seekers alike. This funding will give service providers the tools they need to knowledgeably serve the adult population and provide opportunities for them to skill-up into the jobs within Indianapolis' high-demand industries, providing a workforce-ready population for the future of Marion County and local employers.