Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Activities

Indiana continues the statewide expansion of Registered Apprenticeship Programs as comprehensive workforce solutions for business and industry in all economic sectors. Three key elements are helping with this: First, a single office within DWD has been developed to align the products, services, and functionality among four formerly separate DWD divisions to drive solution design and delivery in a more efficient and effective manner. The Office of Workforce Solutions and Engagement is comprised of Employer Engagement, Workforce Education and Training, the Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship, and Serve Indiana. Second, all twelve local workforce development boards (LWDBs) are registered intermediaries, with many of them also working as sponsors. Finally, the Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship (OWBLA) is developing several technical assistance tools, such as the Post-Secondary Model Program Guidance and the Indiana Apprenticeship Continuum, to aid in the alignment of State agencies and training providers.

The Office of Workforce Solutions and Engagement

The Office has played several roles in the State Plan over the years. However, this has happened as separate and distinct offices – Workforce Education and Training, Employer Engagement, and the Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship which was originally stood up in 2018 to focus on growing work-based learning in Indiana. Since the first quarter of 2022, these offices, along with Serve Indiana (AmeriCorps), have been working as one unit to address both talent attraction and talent retention. This division proactively engages with the LWDBs and employers to identify employer needs and to provide an array of strategies and solutions to address today's needs and tomorrow's growth as well as overall culture and employee satisfaction. We have been able to identify opportunities for cross-functional work among the personnel of the four formerly separate offices as well as the potential for braiding different funding streams to help employers and individuals.

The office has a unique blend of subject matters experts with backgrounds in secondary education, post-secondary education and training, data analytics, business development, career exploration and coaching, and human capital. While truly listening to the customer, working in one office affords us the opportunity to capitalize on this expertise at a pace that aligns with business. At the center of the solution is work-based learning programs, built for both talent attraction and incumbent worker retention, with a focus on middle and high-level skilled occupations. Key to success is the assurance of quality, which comes from having a joint staff of industry and education experts as mentioned above, and a multi-step certification and approval process. And, contrary to misguided belief, these programs are not an alternative to a “traditional four-year degree.” These programs allow the individual and the company to grow by potentially including industry credentials, college credit, certificates, and college degrees.

While Indiana has come a long way in the past several years in the area of apprenticeship, not all states share in this success. Indiana boasts two successful, comprehensive work-based learning programs: Registered Apprenticeship (RAP) and certified State Earn and Learn (SEAL). Each program works well independently, but they also work very well together with SEALs fulfilling the role of Pre-Apprenticeship Programs when an articulation agreement is in place. We have seen significant growth in both programs and participants since OWBLA was stood up in June of 2018, with Indiana as one of the top states in the nation in number of apprentices per workforce capita. We expect to see continued growth, especially in non-traditional sectors, as the Office of Workforce Solutions and Engagement firmly believes that businesses should be talent producers and not just consumers.

Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDBs) as Registered Intermediaries / Sponsors

As of January 2020, all twelve LWDBs had become registered apprenticeship intermediaries, with each having entered into a sub-grantee relationship with DWD in order to develop and scale registered apprenticeship programs in each region across Indiana. The intermediaries are responsible for the outreach and collaboration efforts, RAP expansion, and the development of RAPs, SEALs, and Pre-RAPs. Some regions are now sponsors that also execute the registration and reporting to U.S. Department of Labor. Intermediaries report program and individual participant data at the State level through the State’s Indiana Career Connect (ICC) and Client Relationship Manager (CRM) systems. This structure supports State Plan goals to allow local areas to drive efforts to attract and retain apprentices for high-wage, high-demand jobs that meet the economic needs of the individual region.

Since 2018, DWD has received the SAE, ASE, SAE2020, ABA, and SAEF apprenticeship grants from the U.S. Department of Labor. Through the support of these grants, DWD has been able to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship in Indiana, the LWDBs, Ivy Tech Community College, Vincennes University, various sector partnerships, and secondary and post-secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Adult Education programs. As of the 2022 program year, Indiana was reporting 17,185 apprentices in over nine hundred programs, with 58 new RAPs being approved during that period.[1] However, Indiana still lacks much needed diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. While we have made good progress with our grants, we believe that our LWDBs are in an excellent position to utilize State, WIOA, RAP, and regional resources to reach businesses, develop programs, braid funding, and identify potential talent pools from our target populations, to include:

• Veterans: Purdue University was one of the grantees that received grant dollars through the Presidential Executive Order Expanding Apprenticeships specifically targeting veterans.[2] We will look to create more partnerships between INVets and employers that provide registered apprenticeship opportunities. Connecting the skill sets that veterans have gained during their time of service to these opportunities will provide a benefit to both veterans living in Indiana and our employer community.

• Women: While we see good growth in healthcare apprenticeship, greater access to registered apprenticeships in the skilled trades can help women achieve economic security and fill predicted skills shortages in these sectors. From Pre-RAPs to RAPs, opportunities to earn and learn in these trades provide good careers with family-sustaining earnings and long-term employment. While RAPs in the trades offer good jobs with benefits, only a small portion of apprentices in the trades are women. Pre-Raps can provide women with the foundational skills, supports, networks, and knowledge needed for entering and succeeding in an apprenticeship. As our WorkOnes can help promote these opportunities to women, our business services need to simultaneously work with our businesses to make them inclusive and welcoming for women. As we promote non-traditional hiring practices through our business services representative, employers start to tap into this viable talent pipeline to fill jobs at various entry levels. Indiana can adapt resources and strategies the best practices identified by the National for Women’s Equity in Apprenticeship and Employment.[3]
• Formerly Incarcerated: The occupations currently offered within the IDOC’s Apprenticeship programs tend to be in industries where second chance employment is supported. Through both the Hoosier Initiative for Re-Entry HIRE and WorkOnes, ex-offenders can be actively connected to these opportunities, if they align with their interests. Because they combine on-the-job training with classroom instruction, a formerly incarcerated individual could learn academic and technical skills and earn a stable wage, with the option for regular pay increases during and after the program.
• Historically Underrepresented Minorities: Pre-apprenticeship and pre-employment programs can be especially valuable for people of color who have been historically underrepresented in certain industries and apprenticeships. These programs can be paired with Adult Education to help workers acquire a basic level of academic- and industry-relevant skills. Effective Pre-RAPs expose workers to job sites and work environments, as well as provide income support for workers to address barriers to employment. Pre-employment and pre-apprenticeship programs also create formal access points to employers. RAPs or WIOA Adult and Dislocated programs can help with direct expenses, such as childcare and transportation.
• Urban and Rural Populations: RAPs and SEALS can provide consistent wages, debt-free education, and higher wages to urban and rural Hoosiers. Workers who complete an apprenticeship earn an average starting salary of $50,000 and earn about $300,000 more than comparable workers over their lifetimes. Employers also benefit from having the ability to build a pipeline of skilled workers.[4] Scaling access to State and federal apprenticeship programs will provide a way for urban students to earn postsecondary credentials and an income simultaneously. Pre- and/or youth-apprenticeship programs can aim to define clear career paths, help students (either in K-12 or adults) choose the best track for them, and prepare them to secure and succeed in full-time employment.
• At-Risk Youth: The use of pre-apprenticeship and bridge programs increases access and improves the odds of success for candidates who need job-readiness supports, such as at-risk youth. Pre-RAPs can introduce people to the workplace culture and expectations, developing employability skills as part of the education and training. Younger apprenticeship candidates may not be job-ready upon their graduation from high school, and they may not want to take the traditional four-year higher education route. Merging Pre-RAPs with the redesigned CTE programs of study could offer another option for high school students to earn a postsecondary credential and an income as they begin their career.Connecting Pre-RAPs to high school CTE courses while providing wraparound services such as career counseling and mentoring can help increase student success.[5]

Technical Assistance Tools and Program Alignment

The Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship is currently developing several technical assistance tools to aid in the alignment of State agencies, training providers, and program content. The main purpose of the Post-Secondary Model Program Guidance is to describe the most common career connected learning opportunities available to students. The guide provides common definitions for adult experiences and should help practitioners and employers better understand WBL. It provides standardized guidance for statewide programs as well as tips and resources for implementation.

While this guide includes many types of WBL, it focuses on comprehensive programs. These are training provider or employer-driven, “earn while you learn” programs that combine on-the-job training (OJT) with job-related instruction in curricula tied to the attainment of industry-recognized skills standards and certificates. Comprehensive programs are planned, structured learning experiences that combine classroom learning with paid work experience, and may be within the private for-profit sector, the non-profit sector, or the public sector. They include SEALs, Pre-RAPs, and RAPs.

The Indiana Apprenticeship Continuum is a technical tool that will house a series of templates to assist in building RAPs, Pre-RAPs, and certified SEALs. These templates will be used to enable intermediaries to build comprehensive WBL programs more easily through the use of already existing pathways aligned to U.S. DOL occupations, with options of adding customized training. Partnering with Ivy Tech Community College and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education will ensure alignment with CTE’s Next Level Programs of Study and Ivy Tech’s Certification Crosswalk, Certificates, Technical Certificates, and associate degrees.

This tool, once complete, will ensure alignment of post-secondary education programs to U.S. DOL occupational competencies and development of standardized articulation agreements and training plans for programs using training that can crosswalk or use dual credit or dual enrollment. Visually, it will show pathways with multiple entry points that eventually lead to post-apprenticeship degrees. Not only will State agencies and intermediaries make use of this continuum, but employers can use a version of it for both recruitment and retention purposes.

[1] U.S. Department of Labor, 2019. Overview of the Scaling Apprenticeship through Sector-Based Strategies Grant Program and Project Summaries.

[2] The National Center for Women’s Equity in Apprenticeship and Employment at Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) provides strategies and practical applications to increase the number of women entering and being retained in registered apprenticeship through our online resources, technical assistance, and training.

[3] U.S. Department of Labor. Registered Apprenticeship National Results Fiscal Year 2018.

[4] U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship Toolkit.

[5] Jobs For the Future, 2019. Growing Equity and Diversity through Apprenticeship: Business Perspectives.