Kavitha Cardoza at The Hechinger Report fills us in on Elkhart County, Indiana - which she reports is at the forefront of a movement slowly spreading across Indiana and the Nation to make Apprenticeships a common offering in high school. In 2019, as part of a plan to boost the region’s economic prospects, County Leaders launched an effort to place high schoolers in Apprenticeships that combine work-based training with classroom instruction. About 80 students from the county’s seven school districts participated this academic year, in fields such as health care, law, manufacturing, education and engineering. In April, as part of a broader push to revamp high school education and add more work-based learning, the State set a goal of 50,000 high school Apprentices by 2034. Jimtown High Principal Tim Pletcher said students are often drawn first to the chance to spend less time in class, but his students quickly realize Apprenticeships give them work-based learning credits and industry connections that help them after graduation - and, they also earn a paycheck. “It’s really causing us to have a paradigm shift in how we look at getting kids ready for the next step,” he said. This earn and learn model is taking hold in part because of deepening disillusionment with four-year college, and the fact that well-paying jobs that don’t require Bachelor’s Degrees are going unfilled nationally.

To Read This Apprenticeship And Training Labor News Story In Its Entirety, Go To: Apprenticeships for high schoolers are touted as the next big thing. One state leads the way