INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 4, 2023) – Ascend Indiana, the talent and workforce development initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), has received a $1.7 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation and a $750,000 grant from the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) to scale youth apprenticeship programs across Indiana. Ascend acts as an intermediary, assisting organizations to start youth apprenticeship programs by building capacity, sharing resources, and providing access to state and national partners.

The grant from the Walton Family Foundation was awarded to CICP Foundation, Inc. to advance the charitable activity of Ascend Indiana, and will establish a second cohort of five sites statewide that will each receive $25,000 to design their youth apprenticeship pilots. A subset of those sites will be chosen to receive follow-on funding to launch their youth apprenticeship pilots as part of the Indiana Youth Apprenticeship Accelerator. Ascend launched the Accelerator in 2021 to expand work-based learning programs and to develop a coordinated education-to-career ecosystem that provides all students across the state, in both urban and rural areas, with additional opportunities to obtain necessary skills for today’s workforce.

The sites that have been chosen are (quotes and additional information about each site are at the end of the press release):

  • Center of Workforce Innovations (Valparaiso, Ind.)
    • Geographic reach: Northwest Indiana (Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Starke Counties)
  • Eastern Indiana Works (Muncie, Ind.)
    • Geographic reach: Eastern Indiana (Bartholomew, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hancock, Henry, Madison, Randolf, Rush, Shelby, Wayne, Union Counties)
  • Southern Indiana Education Center (Jasper, Ind.)
    • Geographic reach: Southern Indiana (Crawford, Dubois, Martin, Perry and Spencer Counties)
  • Southern Indiana Works (New Albany, Ind.)
    • Geographic reach: Southern Indiana (Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Scott, Washington Counties)
  • West Central Indiana Career and Technical Education Center (Crawfordsville, Ind.)
    • Geographic reach: West Central Indiana (Montgomery and Boone Counties)

“The generous support from the Walton Family Foundation will pave the way for exponential impact, establishing modern youth apprenticeship as a sought-after talent strategy for employers and a successful education and career pathway for students in Indiana,” said Jason Kloth, president and CEO, Ascend Indiana. “Youth apprenticeship programs in Indiana are expected to enroll at least 450 new apprentices by fall of 2025.”

The funding will also assist Ascend in growing its Community of Practice (COP), which engages more than 100 members and 60 organizations statewide to actively address systemic barriers to scaling modern youth apprenticeships across the state. The COP convenes practitioners and system builders – including policymakers and state leaders – biannually to share learnings and best practices for youth work-based learning.

Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship grants $750,000 to Ascend Indiana to expand its youth apprenticeship work in four regions statewide

In addition, the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA), through New America Foundation, has awarded Ascend Indiana a $750,000 grant to provide continued funding and technical support through the Indiana Youth Apprenticeship Accelerator to the first cohort of Indiana pilot sites that launched in 2021. PAYA is a national consortium of organizations supporting states and cities in their efforts to expand access to high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for high school-aged youth.

The funding will assist Ascend in expanding the first cohort of the Accelerator, which includes four Indiana youth apprenticeship pilots that have collectively placed nearly 500 high school students with employers to date. These pilots are operated by Regional Opportunity Initiatives, Inc. (Indiana Uplands), OptIN/Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Foundation (Southern Indiana), The Pursuit Institute (Hamilton County), and EmployIndy (Indianapolis).

Support from PAYA will also further enable the ongoing efforts and impact of the statewide COP.

“Youth apprenticeship is an innovative post-secondary strategy that better connects the learning needs of students with the talent needs of industry,” said Taylor White, director, Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) & Postsecondary Pathways for Youth at New America. “Ascend’s Accelerator model is pioneering a new way to support the growth of high quality, locally grown youth apprenticeship programs that expand opportunity for young adults and their communities. Through the Accelerator and the statewide Community of Practice, Ascend is leading a two-pronged effort to build strong programs and strong policy and systems to promote quality, sustainability, and scale. We are proud to continue our support for Ascend’s leadership in Indiana’s burgeoning youth apprenticeship movement and look forward to the progress ahead.”

About Ascend Indiana

An initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), Ascend Indiana is committed to making Indiana a place of economic opportunity for all. Ascend connects job seekers to good and promising career opportunities through an innovative job matching platform, the Ascend Network; catalyzes partnerships and provides consulting services to meet high-demand workforce needs through Ascend Services; and conducts research through Ascend Insights to enable systems-level change that positively impacts individuals throughout the state. To learn more, visit ascendindiana.com.

About The Walton Family Foundation

The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA)
The Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) is a multi-year, collaborative initiative that supports states and cities in their efforts to expand access to high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for high school age youth. The Partnership convenes and mobilizes the expertise, experience, and collective networks of national, state, and regional partners to provide direct support to place-based partnerships, facilitate learning and innovation, and strengthen the case and evidence base for youth apprenticeship. New America leads PAYA in close cooperation with seven National Partner organizations: Advance CTE, CareerWise USA, Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeship, Education Strategy Group, JFF, the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity, and the National Governors Association. PAYA’s work is supported by the generosity of several philanthropic supporters, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Carnegie Corporation of New York, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, Siemens Foundation, the Smidt Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.

Quotes and information for Youth Apprenticeship Pilot Programs:

  • Center of Workforce Innovations (Valparaiso, Ind.)
    • Geographic reach: Northwest Indiana (Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Starke Counties)
    • Quote: “The Center of Workforce Innovations (CWI) is honored to be selected as part of Ascend’s Youth Apprenticeship Accelerator program,” said KathyNeary, strategic innovation officer, Center of Workforce Innovations. “Our work in Northwest Indiana drives an intentional focus on a sustainable workforce by connecting young adults with opportunities that lead to direct employment pathways and post-secondary education. Inclusion in this program will assist CWI to bridge a deeper connection between education, employers, and high demand, good careers by scaling work-based learning opportunities across Northwest Indiana.”
    • Information: The Center of Workforce Innovations’ mission is to ensure a high-quality, prepared workforce in Northwest Indiana. Their solutions range from building and maintaining broad-based partnerships to assisting individual organizations in creating targeted talent recruitment and retention strategies in Northwest Indiana.
  • Eastern Indiana Works (Muncie, Ind.)
    • Geographic reach: Eastern Indiana (Bartholomew, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hancock, Henry, Madison, Randolf, Rush, Shelby, Wayne, Union Counties)
    • Quote: “As a region, we are excited to participate in the Modern Youth Apprenticeship Accelerator cohort,” said Gus Linde, chief executive officer, Eastern Indiana Works. “Eastern Indiana Works, in partnership with the East Central Educational Service Center, are aligned to partner with our regional talent collaborative to develop and connect apprenticeship opportunities for young people in our region.”
    • Information: Eastern Indiana Works strives to prepare the Eastern Indiana workforce for high-demand, high-wage employment, and convenes regional private/public partners to provide funding for credential, certificate and degree programs that empower adult and youth to meet the current and future workforce needs of the Eastern Indiana economy.
  • Southern Indiana Education Center (Jasper, Ind.)
    • Geographic reach: Southern Indiana (Crawford, Dubois, Martin, Perry and Spencer Counties)
    • Quote: “On behalf of Southern IN Education Center and our collaborative partners in this effort, we are beyond thrilled to receive this award,” said Judy Bueckert, executive director, Southern IN Education Center. “We are eager to work with Ascend and look forward to building high quality youth apprenticeships in our region.”
    • Information: Southern IN Education Center is one of nine education service centers in Indiana. It is proud to fulfill its legislated mission in support of the 36-member school districts in the region by providing cooperative purchasing, professional learning at all levels, and guiding and supporting collaborative efforts to build and sustain high quality programming within its schools.
  • Southern Indiana Works (New Albany, Ind.)
    • Geographic reach: Southern Indiana (Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Scott, Washington Counties)
    • Quote: “Southern Indiana Works is excited to become an Accelerator site for Youth Apprenticeship,” said Brittany Dougherty, vice president research and strategy, Southern Indiana Works. “We are looking forward to working with Ascend Indiana and the opportunity to advance our mission and one of our priority areas, Next Generation Talent, through youth apprenticeships.”
    • Information: Southern Indiana Works (SIW) is the Local Workforce Development Board and a nonprofit 501(c)(3) that leads the Talent Development Systems in Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Crawford, Scott and Washington Counties.
  • West Central Indiana Career and Technical Education Center (Crawfordsville, Ind.)
    • Geographic reach: West Central Indiana (Montgomery and Boone Counties)
    • Quote: “The decision to develop a Youth Apprenticeship program in our region is driven by the evolving landscape of CTE and the opportunities in our community for students to directly enter the workforce with the knowledge and skills gained through CTE involvement,” said West Central IN CTE Director Sara Nicodemus. “West Central IN CTE and all of its partners firmly believe that introducing Youth Apprenticeship programs is a crucial step forward in aligning education with the changing needs of industries and in providing students with a competitive edge in the job market.”
    • Information: West Central Indiana Career & Technical Education (CTE) is a district cooperative between Crawfordsville High School, North Montgomery High School, Southmont High School, and Western Boone High School.