In the “RV Capital of the World,” CareerWise Elkhart County connects high school students to apprenticeships designed to create a pipeline of talent in a wide range of fields facing staff shortages
This article is part of a series featuring winners of Profiles in Collective Leadership, an initiative by Carnegie Corporation of New York in partnership with the nonprofit Transcend, that recognizes outstanding local partnerships that educate youth, bolster the workforce, and demonstrate the power of working together. The 10 nonpartisan collaborations in urban, suburban, and rural areas across the country draw on the strengths of local government, education, nonprofit, business, and health care professionals to catalyze socioeconomic mobility and civic engagement in their communities. The 10 recognized partnerships in eight states have been awarded $200,000 grants and will act as exemplars, sharing what they have learned with each other and more broadly.
Jaelyn Ibarra, a 17-year-old rising senior in Elkhart County, Indiana, thought she’d go into the business world until she became a paid apprentice to two kindergarten teachers. She discovered she loves helping in the classroom and seeing how children react to the unexpected.
The experience has given her a new perspective on how hard teachers work and how much they care. Ibarra wishes more students would try an apprenticeship to get a clearer view of potential professions and avoid starting down the wrong career paths. “It saves time, effort, money, and it’s really fun,” she says.
Ibarra found the spot through CareerWise Elkhart County, which connects high school students to apprenticeships designed to last one to three years. The initiative aims to help juniors and seniors gain work experience while creating a pipeline of talent in a wide range of fields facing staff shortages.
Dubbed the “RV Capital of the World” due to its abundance of recreational vehicle factories, Elkhart County has had a bumpy ride: It is known for a product that is quick to lose customers during economic downturns. President Obama visited in February of 2009 to describe his vision for the nation’s recovery from recession, noting that the community had lost jobs faster than any place else in America. Unemployment in the Elkhart-Goshen metro area had hit nearly 20 percent in late 2008, up from about 5 percent a year earlier.
Elkhart’s economy rebounded over time, but the crisis spurred leaders in local industry and education to join forces to bolster the labor force, improve opportunities for young people and boost their engagement in school. They formed the nonprofit Horizon Education Alliance in 2012, which formed CareerWise Elkhart County, its apprenticeship program, in 2019. Collaborating wasn’t easy. “Business moves at 100 miles an hour and education is pokey poke, I mean turtle time,” said Jane Allen, former superintendent of Middlebury Community Schools in Elkhart.
Roughly 2,500 seniors graduate from the county’s schools annually, but only about half enroll in college or other postsecondary programs within a year. Only one third finish a bachelor’s or associate’s degree within six years. Many rack up tuition debt without earning a diploma.
CareerWise Elkhart seeks to adapt the German and Swiss model of apprenticeships to local needs. Since its 2019 founding, it has served 82 students, and momentum is growing. This fall, 62 apprentices - the biggest cohort yet - expect to participate in a broad range of roles including paralegal, classroom paraprofessional, medical assistant and manufacturing work. Some plan to hone these skills and attend college while others will move directly to a career.
To create opportunities for students, the Horizon Education Alliance recruits businesses to post apprenticeship positions and encourages students to apply through an online portal. HEA staffers coach applicants on creating resumes and interviewing, and — once the work starts — check in on apprentices regularly to help them navigate professional etiquette and expectations. High school juniors and seniors spend half the day at school and half at work. Employers pay their salaries, starting at rates of $7.25 to about $20 an hour.
HEA says these apprenticeships are more long-term, structured and focused on specific competencies than internships, and are registered with the federal Department of Labor to demonstrate their rigor. Some roles can lead to industry bonafides, such as a Certified Nursing Assistant degree or Paralegal Certificate, or a credential from the Smart Automation Certification Alliance that reflects technical skills in advanced manufacturing.
Employers have been enthusiastic. At the Elkhart County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, which has had several apprentices, executive administrative manager Tamara Christy says business partners “gain an eager-to-learn staff member while making a huge impact on the lives of youth and changing our community’s trajectory.”
Employer contributions and philanthropy covered the fiscal 2024 budget of roughly $700,000 for HEA staff and services for CareerWise. Brian Wiebe, president and CEO of HEA, calls that sum a bargain, and projects the cost-per-apprentice will go down over time as the program scales up. At the moment, about twice as many students apply for apprenticeships as there are openings, and HEA is working to get more employers on board.
Wiebe hopes CareerWise’s success will transform Elkhart County. “The status quo isn’t working,” says Wiebe. “We’re talking about changing an entire system here, right now.”
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