Young people are the future of our workforce, and EmployIndy is committed to ensuring that Marion County can produce the talented individuals needed for a strong, capable workforce. EmployIndy structures its efforts as “prevention” – preventing those who are on an in-school trajectory from dropping out – and “intervention” – reaching young people who are disconnected from school so they can get on a positive trajectory. Read more below, or click the logos for more detailed information.
In-School Youth
Strong partnerships with educational institutions including Ivy Tech, IPS, and other school districts are at the foundation of our in-school Youth Services. We also oversee Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) within Marion County, which has programming in 14 high schools. JAG is designed to offer a wide range of opportunities to high school students as a means of dropout prevention and to ensure graduates are prepared for next steps after high school.
EmployIndy is also heavily involved in key youth activities such as JA JobSpark, TeenWorks, Congressman Carson’s Youth Opportunities Fair, and more.
Opportunity Youth
Opportunity youth are people age 16-24 who have become disconnected from school and/or work, and are in need of support to reconnect them on a career path. EmployIndy has two key initiatives currently in motion to reach this population. YES Indy is EmployIndy’s program to serve these residents, primarily funded through a major investment from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. EmployIndy has organized partners, mounted resources, and nurtured ethos to build the necessary infrastructure and system-wide partnerships to serve more Indianapolis youth and young adults and foster better outcome for clients. As an intermediary and working on behalf of our network of partners, EmployIndy has built this system to move youth and young adults toward self-sufficiency through education, training, and employment.
YES INDY Re-Engagement Centers (REC)
Often, the most difficult part of providing services to opportunity youth is reaching those people who need the most support. Community centers provide an access point for re-engagement services to youth who are disconnected from either education or employment due to significant barriers precluding labor force participation. Our innovative YES Indy RECs use sports recreation as a hook (primarily open gym basketball), connecting participants to education, case management, workforce development training, industry certifications, and job placement services when they are ready.