A partnership with New Apprenticeship TM (NEW) is a key element of TechPoint’s Mission41K, a plan to inclusively grow the Indiana tech workforce by an additional 41,000 workers by 2030. 

Apprenticeships at the youth and adult level are proven ways to encourage youth to join the tech sector, and a quick way for adults to enter the field while also providing an immediate return on investment to employers.  

TechPoint Executive Vice President of Talent Dennis Trinkle, citing Department of Labor statistics, said there are more than 435,000 adults working today in the U.S. as adult apprentices. Only about 4,000 of them are in the tech field, he said. 

“We know this approach works, but the tech sector is only now beginning to embrace it,” he said. “Now is the perfect time to encourage it because so many tech roles lend themselves well to an apprenticeship model.  These “new collar” jobs can be mastered through on-the-job training. The training can be coupled with college credit, so that the apprenticeship creates a pathway into a career in tech and advances someone towards a degree to open that option.  To get a fast start, we are partnering with NEW to handle administrative matters and many training components, which will make adoption virtually seamless.” 

“Combining TechPoint’s deep company and community relationships with NEW’s expertise in growing diverse and robust leaders serves to create impactful, measurable, and sustainable benefits for individuals, communities, and companies in Indiana,” said NEW CEO Brad Voeller. “This partnership positions Indiana as a model for states nationwide to witness how employers and overlooked Indiana residents can benefit from tech apprenticeships.”  

Mission41K is a TechPoint-driven, collaborative movement designed to address the largest problem tech employers are facing today: finding, hiring and retaining qualified tech talent. It prioritizes skills-based hiring, provides more inclusive pathways into tech roles for significantly more people, and puts a focus on apprenticeships as a viable path to a successful and lucrative career in tech. 

“Many tech leaders have been so focused on trying to hire the talent they need that they haven’t been able to focus on a long-term, big-picture solution,” Trinkle said. “These programs deliver both immediate and long-term benefits.”  

Early support from Eli Lilly, Infosys, Cummins, OneAmerica, Allegion, Zotec Partners, Wunderkind, Ivy Tech Community College and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation was key to illustrating recognition that these new pathways are key to our successful future, he said. 

“As a large technology services employer in Indiana, Infosys is happy to support efforts such as Mission41K with TechPoint and New Apprenticeship, which will encourage more individuals to pursue tech careers,” said Tan Moorthy, Executive Vice President, Head of US Delivery Operations and Global Head of Training and Assessments at Infosys. “Technology’s impact is growing exponentially and offering non-traditional pathways into tech careers is a solid, business strategy for both individuals and the firms that will employ them.” 

To address youth apprenticeships, TechPoint is working with Ascend Indiana and Employ Indy, which recently received a $6 million grant from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation to develop the Modern Youth Apprenticeship program in central Indiana 

The Indiana tech workforce has grown by 16.3 percent over the past decade, a 60 percent faster growth rate than seen across other sectors. More than 184,000 Hoosiers now work in tech and tech-enabled roles, filling one out of every 10 jobs in Indiana. Tech jobs offer high salaries, stability and strong advancement pathways. For every 10,000 new tech workers added to the Indiana workforce, $698 million in new annual wages are generated and $56.9 million in state and local tax revenues are gained.   

Growing the Indiana tech workforce is challenged by fewer people entering the workforce as older workers retire. Obstacles created by traditional hiring practices make the issue more difficult. Adopting skills-based hiring and creating inclusive pathways while encouraging young Hoosiers to consider a tech career are part of the strategic effort to accomplish Mission41K goals.

Read our Guide to Adult Apprenticeships.