This week, EmployIndy is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) to showcase the successes and value of apprenticeships for building new career pathways that address both the talent shortages that continue to challenge businesses across Central Indiana and the desire from workers for more options for obtaining good jobs.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, NAW is a nationwide celebration taking place from November 17-23, 2024, where employers, industry representatives, labor organizations, community-based organizations, workforce partners, educational institutions, and federal, state, and local government agencies host events to showcase the successes and value of Registered Apprenticeships for strengthening our economy by developing a highly skilled workforce to meet industry needs, creating pathways for career seekers to catapult into good jobs, and advancing racial and gender equity.
As Marion County’s workforce intermediary, EmployIndy plays a key role in supporting the apprenticeship movement for job seekers and employers in Indianapolis. Through our Modern Apprenticeship Program (MAP), we’ve placed 142 youth apprentices with 46 local employers, providing a strategic solution for employers to close the skills gap while developing a workforce prepared to meet future demands. For the student, MAP helps them gain hands-on job experience and an opportunity to earn money, college credit, and professional connections in growing fields such as business, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and information technology (IT), resulting in more options when deciding what comes next after high school.
EmployIndy also supports pre-apprenticeship programs that puts individuals on a path to financial stability for trades like construction. Through YouthBuild Indy, EmployIndy offers young people the opportunity to obtain industry certifications, develop job readiness skills, receive adult basic education preparation, and hands-on paid work experiences. A graduate of the program, Anthony Parish, was recently nationally recognized for his outstanding leadership through service by YouthBuild USA.
EmployIndy and our network of Community-Based Organizations (CBO) also help job seekers identify and take advantage of unique pathways to good jobs including pre-apprenticeship programs like Indiana Plan which provides construction training to minorities and disadvantaged workers in Indiana. This summer, Joseph Webster, a job seeker struggling with housing insecurity and transportation barriers, benefitted from our connections within the workforce ecosystem. After obtaining his OSHA 30 certification through EmployIndy CBO partners Key2Work and RecycleForce, Webster was referred by EmployIndy to Indiana Plan where he became a standout member of his training cohort and ultimately secured an apprenticeship with Central Midwest Carpenters.
EmployIndy’s leadership in the apprenticeship space extends through our role as a convener of apprenticeship stakeholders as well. In September, Indianapolis hosted the 2024 National Youth Apprenticeship Summit. Alongside our partners CareerWise USA and PAYA, who organized the conference, EmployIndy helped highlight the importance of collaboration between intermediaries, like us, who are key to scaling youth apprenticeships. We also led site visits at several of our MAP employers to give summit attendees a look into the workplaces where our youth apprentices are making a real impact.
Additionally, to maximize the reach of National Apprenticeship Week and call upon partner organizations and apprenticeship stakeholders throughout Central Indiana to recognize the value of Registered Apprenticeship, Mayor Joe Hogsett and the City of Indianapolis have partnered with EmployIndy to recognize National Apprenticeship Week in Indianapolis through an official mayoral proclamation.
We encourage you to join us this week in celebrating the recent growth and impact of apprenticeships in Marion County while looking forward to the progress ahead.
