Work-Based Learning Discussions at the Indiana State Summit
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.
