Connecting Classrooms to Careers Through Student-Led Businesses
Ascend Indiana promotes student-led businesses as a hands-on way for students to run real enterprises and build workforce skills, while seeking support to scale the model statewide.
Collaboration Is Key to Educating and Equipping for an AI Future
Ascend Indiana CEO Brad Rhorer emphasizes that strong collaboration between educators, employers and policymakers is essential to align skills, integrate AI into existing learning pathways and build an adaptable workforce for an AI-driven future.
Expanding Opportunity Across Indiana Through Regional Collaboration
Ascend is aligning partners, tools, and data to strengthen regional workforce systems and expand opportunity across Indiana.
Creating Regional Strength: The Don Wood Foundation’s Role in Fort Wayne’s Economy
The Don Wood Foundation is transforming Northeast Indiana’s economy by uniting education, industry and community to build a skilled workforce and drive regional prosperity.
Guiding Indiana’s Class of 2026 Toward Prosperous Futures
Expanding early career guidance and work-based learning to help Indiana seniors succeed beyond graduation.
Building a More Connected Workforce System: Aligning Data, Technology and Collaborative Leadership for Indiana’s Future
Indiana is uniting data, technology, and leadership to build a smarter, more connected workforce system that meets employer and jobseeker needs.
The Power of Predictive Analytics and Partnerships
According to LightCast, Indiana had nearly 750,000 unique job postings in 2024, with almost 25% falling in the advanced industries’ economy.
High School Redesign: An Invitation for Employers to Co-Create Talent
the Indiana State Board of Education unanimously approved new requirements for high school graduation.
Continuous Improvement Leads to Work-Based Learning as a Talent Development Solution
Many of you who have read my CEO letters have undoubtedly noticed that I draw a great deal of my inspiration from my 30+-year career in manufacturing for a Japanese automotive manufacturer. That, coupled with nearly 12 months of partnership with Ascend’s stakeholders from industry, education and the public sector, has led me to recognize a common theme for 2024. It was a year focused on “kaizen,” also known as continuous improvement.
“Pathways to Progress” Reveals Ascend’s Vision and Roadmap for the Future
When I first joined Ascend Indiana in early 2024, I pledged to begin my tenure by listening to our stakeholders, asking them to honestly assess what Ascend does well and what gaps we could fill as an Indiana workforce development intermediary.
