INDIANAPOLIS, IN – February 8, 2024 – This morning, over 100 Indianapolis high school juniors and seniors met at Martin University for the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Indy Regional Career Development Conference. Each student utilized the employability skills they have learned in their JAG classrooms over the course of the past year, competing in challenges such as launching entrepreneurship plans, developing chapter marketing campaigns, providing creative solutions, demonstrating employability skills and critical thinking, and more. 

The JAG Indy program prepares students for the workforce by introducing them to employability skills and different industries, employers, and work experiences.  

“It's amazing to see the hard work that our JAG Indy students put in throughout the year, and then bring to this competition,” said Erika Cheney, Vice President of Career-Connected Learning at EmployIndy. “The career readiness skills and creativity on display here today point to a bright future for our workforce.” 

The Regional JAG Indy Career Development Conference is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their skills, with the top individual from each competition qualifying to attend the State JAG Career Development Conference taking place in March 2024. In addition to recognizing these students’ successes, five individuals were nominated by their JAG Specialist as outstanding senior candidates, an award recognizing select high school seniors who have gone above and beyond in community involvement and are viewed as leaders among their peers.  

“I’m thankful for everyone who supported me during this process. As I prepare for the state competition, l am committed to working even harder,” said Mariska Ogutu, outstanding senior from Ben Davis High School. Mariska was named Region 12’s JAG Outstanding Senior for 2024 and will compete for the top honor against the other eleven workforce development regions in the State.  

This year’s keynote speaker, NBA and WNBA Host/Emcee and Global Brand Marketer, Olivia West, shared inspiring words with students as she set the stage for an outstanding day of competition and collaboration. 

Indianapolis Deputy Mayor Judith Thomas also contributed greatly to the students’ experience with remarks and took the time to congratulate every winner at this year’s award ceremony. 

This event was also successful because of our sponsors, including Gold Level Sponsor WM who has generously supported the Jobs for America’s Graduates program in Marion County.

“We need passionate leaders to advocate on their behalf when they can’t.”

In October, Essence Gray and Josh Morrow had the opportunity to do that very thing. Serving as policy liaisons on the National Youth Employment Coalition’s (NYEC) Youth Advisory Council (YAC), both Indy natives had the chance to travel to Washington D.C. to participate in NYEC’s inaugural Youth Days, an annual event that fosters education and empowerment both of young people and the practitioners who serve them. 

“In many ways, Essence's educational and career journey, with its starts and stops, highs and lows, many due to life happenings and system barriers, is indicative of so many of the Opportunity Youth (OY) we encounter,” said Rev Rodney Francis, Executive Vice President, Workforce Solutions, at EmployIndy. “She has not given up on her dreams and instead persisted. In this way, she’s a leader among her peers.” Through YES Indy, EmployIndy’s Youth Employment System, Gray completed the Power Huddle in April of 2020, a two-week job readiness experience, which helped her develop a growth mindset and an appetite for making positive changes in herself and for her fellow youth. Despite having struggled with homelessness, involvement with the justice system, grief from the tragic loss of loved ones, and system barriers, Gray has remained focused and has taken advantage of the employment training and services offered to her by EmployIndy and its community-based partner organizations, even securing an internship with EmployIndy’s Strategy and Research team at the end of 2020.

While in Washington D.C. for Youth Days, she attended policy meetings, presented at a breakout session on the current challenges for today’s youth, as well as spoke about youth gun violence in Indianapolis and how it has affected her and her community. When asked about other highlights from the trip, she was quick to share that meeting Congressman Andre Carson was a moment she says she will always remember. “His staff was very Hoosier and welcoming, which made me feel like I was back at home,” she said. Walking into his office, Congressman Carson told Gray to have a seat at his desk and that one day “it may very well be your seat.” She spoke with him about the work she would like to do and how he can better help the youth in Indianapolis. 

“These past few months since returning from Washington D.C., I've started a family strengthening class that is helping me to better myself for the ones around me. I’m still doing youth leadership advocacy work but have also tapped into my management skills and now help manage local music artists, as a part of work to help co-found a music record label,” said Gray. 

For Josh Morrow, who has also experienced hardships and struggles with system barriers similar to Gray, it’s about forward movement and continued progress. “Right now, I'm just learning and taking every opportunity,” said Morrow, who first became involved with NYEC through the Community Alliance of the Far Eastside (CAFE), a YES Indy partner organization and referral source for young people looking for career and employment support. “I believe I bring lived experiences and a deep understanding of the skilled trade employment market.” Morrow added about his time thus far serving on the Youth Advisory Council. Since visiting Washington D.C. for Youth Days, Morrow has continued to focus on youth development and employment advocacy, working as a mentor recruiter for Trusted Mentors.

Gray’s and Morrow’s determination toward an upward trajectory underscores the importance that their voices have had and will continue to play at the national level, where critical youth-focused policies are shaped. And as they continue to advocate for themselves and others who are facing barriers to education and employment here in Indianapolis, they will hold their experiences in our nation’s capital close.

Young people, ages 16-24, who are interested in getting connected to barrier-busting support as well as connection to education, training, and job opportunities, are encouraged to visit https://yesindy317.org. 

INDIANAPOLIS – 13 November 2023 – Today, Mayor Joe Hogsett recognized the third annual “Apprenticeship Week” in Indianapolis. This week-long celebration, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), will be celebrated by stakeholders who strive to promote both Registered and Youth Apprenticeships throughout Marion County.

“The City of Indianapolis and EmployIndy want to foster as many pathways as possible to the career, wage, and life that residents want,” said Mayor Hogsett. “Through apprenticeship programs, prospective employees can gain access to good-paying jobs, and industries can gain access to a motivated, local workforce.”

Apprenticeships are an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway where employers can develop and prepare their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience, classroom instruction, and a portable, nationally recognized credential. Youth Apprenticeships, in particular, provide young people with a model of success for introducing our future workforce to expanded career pathways.

High school students who complete the Modern Apprenticeship program, a 3-year youth apprenticeship program launched by EmployIndy and Ascend Indiana in 2020, can participate in hands-on work experience that complements their traditional coursework, in growing fields such as business, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and information technology (IT). Afterward, they can pursue a college degree or enter directly into the workforce. Youth apprenticeships offer young people the rare opportunity to get paid to learn while multiplying their options after high school.

EmployIndy is also celebrating our commitment to strengthening and diversifying Registered Apprenticeship programs during this year’s National Apprenticeship Week. As one of more than 200 industry, labor, and community-based organizations– as well as educators, employers, and workforce intermediaries– among the inaugural cohort of the Biden-Harris administration’s Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative, EmployIndy will continue leveraging this designation and additional funding to scale innovative apprenticeship practices in Marion County and Central Indiana.

“EmployIndy is committed to the growth of apprenticeships in our region as a way to help strengthen our local economy, build pipelines to good quality jobs, and advance racial and gender equity,” said Marie Mackintosh, EmployIndy president and CEO. “Through our existing initiatives like Modern Apprenticeship, and future initiatives like the Regional Apprenticeship Hub, we’ll continue to make advancements in removing barriers to quality employment for underserved and underrepresented residents.”

As the workforce intermediary guiding apprenticeship expansion in non-traditional occupations in Marion County and the greater Indianapolis Region, EmployIndy is uniquely positioned to help local employers build, launch and scale their apprenticeship programs. To expand on this work, EmployIndy is partnering with AIR to launch the Regional Apprenticeship Hub. This hub will convene and coordinate the apprenticeship efforts of partners in the region, enabling an effective and collaborative apprenticeship ecosystem.

As employer demand for highly skilled talent continues to grow, establishing a system of career-connected learning that will create equitable opportunities for all Indianapolis students has become a necessity. This week, we celebrate the recent growth and impact of apprenticeships in Marion County while looking forward to the progress ahead.