INDIANAPOLIS — Work-based learning is now a key component in building and diversifying Indiana’s talent pipeline, which is critical to moving the state forward.
Work and Learn Indiana’s inaugural Work-Based Learning IMPACT Summit, hosted on February 21 at the Ritz Charles in Carmel, will serve as a convening of best practices in this talent area and spur the sharing of ideas toward growth and partnership within the workforce and education.
In addition to celebrating promising models, the summit’s key outcomes are to help imagine and innovate solutions toward future collaboration and inspire new partnerships to operationalize these practices. Organizers believe that helping students gain relevant exposure to the world of work reinforces classroom learning and puts them on a path to success.
“We’re excited to offer the IMPACT Summit and bring together Indiana’s thought leaders and collaborators in business, community, education, and government,” reports Todd Hurst, executive director at the Institute for Workforce Excellence, a subsidiary of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce that houses Work and Learn Indiana. “Convening these groups together with a focus on work-based learning is a conduit to tackling the workforce challenges that are preventing Indiana’s economy from reaching its potential.”
The event will also include the 17th Annual IMPACT Awards Luncheon, which celebrates Hoosier interns, internship supervisors, employers, and career development professionals. Work and Learn Indiana honors nominees and winners in the categories of Intern of the Year, Employer of the Year, Internship Supervisor of the Year, and Career Development Professional of the Year. The nominations were submitted by the public with winners chosen by a group of impartial judges.
Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education, will deliver the keynote at the IMPACT Summit and touts its objective.
“Increasing access to high-quality work-based learning is important both for our state’s future economy as well as the individual students who are positively impacted by these experiences,” Jenner says. “When students are able to take the knowledge they learn in the classroom and then apply it directly to career fields that interest them, they can put their skills into action and also make connections that help to springboard their future.”
The IMPACT Summit’s platinum sponsors are Ascend Indiana and the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet. Gerry Dick of Inside INdiana Business will serve as the emcee.
Tickets for the entire summit are $100 each – and tickets for the award lunch only are $50 each. Both can be purchased at www.workandlearnindiana.com/impact-awards.
Hurst offers that the Work and Learn Indiana program “cultivates the creation and expansion of high-quality experiential learning opportunities within the state.”
For more information about Work and Learn Indiana, visit www.workandlearnindiana.com or call 317- 264-6852.
