An intermediary between employers, education providers, and talent to address talent and workforce development to better align the labor market.
Location: Central Indiana
Purpose: To make Indiana a place of economic opportunity for all
Lead Stakeholders: Business, Philanthropy
Process: Established in 2016, Ascend Indiana serves as the talent and workforce development initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP). Early funding for this initiative came from a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment, which supported the first three years of the organization’s operations.
Ascend Indiana conducted in-depth research and engaged key stakeholders to understand the workforce landscape in Central Indiana, resulting in four areas of focus: engaging employers, identifying and connecting talent, building talent pipelines, and informing public policy.
Ascend Indiana connects people to careers through three main offerings: The Ascend Network (job matching platform), Ascend Services (consulting and capacity building), and Ascend Insights (conducts labor market research & shares best practices).
Outcomes:
- Provided nearly 23,000 career navigation activities to students and job seekers.
- Built 64 talent pipelines and talent strategies alongside employers, with 2,047 individuals participating in training programs.
- Grew its Community of Practice (COP), which engages more than 100 members and 60 organizations statewide to actively address systemic barriers to scaling modern youth apprenticeships.
View or download PDF of the Ascend Indiana case study.
