Celebrating Youth Apprenticeship Week, meet a young apprentice and more.
Ascend Indiana
Our vision is for all Hoosiers & all employers to be equipped to thrive in Indiana's evolving economy.
Upskilling the Next Generation of Hoosiers Sets Employers and Students on a Path to Success
Mark Murphy went to college to study accounting. He didn’t pursue that course of study for very long, instead pivoting to tech and advanced manufacturing. As president of PRD, Inc., an injection molding advanced manufacturing company in the Indiana Uplands region, Murphy appreciates the benefits of modern youth apprenticeship programs like UpSkill Work & Learn in helping young adults enter college with a better sense of their passions and career aspirations. That kind of guidance would have been invaluable to him 38 years ago, he said.?
See what else Mark has to say about the Upskill Work & Learn modern youth apprenticeship program.
Youth Apprenticeship Week
May 5-11 marks the 1st National Youth Apprenticeship Week (YAW)! YAW highlights the benefits and value of Registered Apprenticeship program opportunities for youth, ages 16-24.
Real-world Experience Helps Modern Youth Apprentice Find her True Passion
Maddie Simmerman, a 17-year-old student at Bedford North Lawrence High School, thought she liked engineering after taking a class in school, but not until she joined the UpSkill Work & Learn modern youth apprenticeship program did she realize that this is now her life’s passion and career path. Maddie found that passion when she became a manufacturing apprentice with PRD, Inc., an injection molding advanced manufacturing company specializing in automotive parts, particularly custom LED headlights and taillights for cars, in the Indiana Uplands region.
Read about Maddie’s journey from a passing interest to passion.
President and CEO Letter: A Commitment to Listen
Last month, Ascend Indiana’s President and CEO, Brad Rhorer, described the organization’s plans to grow its footprint and statewide impact with a commitment to moving forward with three tenets: Listen, Lean-In and Leverage.
This month, he delves into how Ascend is Listening, and what that means for the organization and its stakeholders.
Click here to read Rhorer's four considerations for action.
Mark your calendars for the 2024 National Youth Apprenticeship Summit, taking place from September 17-19, and presented by Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship and CareerWise! As Indiana is building out a statewide system for youth apprenticeship, this year's focus will not just be on the ins and outs of a youth apprenticeship program, but the larger system perspective. An official invite and registration link will be sent out in May.
If questions come up for you before the official invite and registration link is sent out, please reach out to Shauna Harman at [email protected].
Ascend In The News
Ascend Indiana’s Kate Broshears Named to IBJ’s Forty Under 40 List
Ascend Indiana is pleased to announce that Kate Broshears, Ascend’s Vice President of Operations and Chief of Staff, has been named to the Indianapolis Business Journal’s (IBJ) prestigious Forty Under 40 list.
Kate has served in key operational roles at Ascend since 2016 when she became the fifth employee and helped to launch the initiative. Kate’s leadership has helped the organization to secure more than $56 million in philanthropic funding, connect more than 5,000 individuals to good and promising jobs and internships in Indiana, provide nearly 15,000 Indiana students and job seekers with one-on-one career support while helping more than 760 employers statewide find the kind of in-demand talent they need to continue to grow the Indiana economy.
Congratulations, Kate.
What Does the Next Generation of the Pork Industry Want?
A recent article in Farm Journal showed that many industries in Indiana are facing labor shortages and the Indiana pork producers are no different. Recent research funded by the Indiana Pork Producers Association and the Indiana Soybean Alliance shows the importance of reaching talent younger, building a positive reputation for working in the industry, and developing more effective programs to increase the talent pipeline.
The research also shows that a growing number of young people are interested in work-based learning and internships while in high school. Indiana Pork has engaged Ascend Indiana to help design programmatic approaches to help attract young people to the industry for fulfilling careers.