Indiana plans to strengthen and expand apprenticeship programs across the state through a $6 million federal grant.
The Department of Workforce Development will use more than $1.2 million to expand existing apprenticeship programs — including at Ivy Tech, Vincennes University and WorkOne locations across Indiana.
Jason Graves is the senior director for the Indiana Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship. He said the remainder of the federal funding will support new apprenticeships in industries like technology and high-demand fields like health care.
“Upskilling, and the change in technology is everybody knows it — it's happening now, and more of it is coming," Graves said. "And so people need to—they're going to need to skill up a little bit sometimes, and we want to help with that.”
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Graves said Indiana is a leader in registered apprenticeships and says the money will help build on that success.
“We want to, use these funds to get the word out, to help employers and to really, really connect with also some higher education partners,” he said.
Timoria is our labor and employment reporter. Contact her at tcunningham@wfyi.org.