By Christy Wrightsman | For The Democrat

Career Connected Learning (CCL) in Brown County offers students career-related opportunities such as career exploration, career engagement and career experiences that all require local industry partnerships. Our Brown County Schools students are involved in CCL activities throughout K-12, but there’s a new opportunity that’s unique to our high school students. Brown County High School sophomores and juniors can now apply, interview, and obtain apprenticeships that will give them paid work experience alongside classroom instruction. This is just one of the newest ways Career Connected Learning allows for an authentic and relevant education that connects our community and workforce needs with education.

In 2022, Regional Opportunity Initiative (ROI), started their first high school UpSkill program for apprenticeships. The UpSkill program offers students a two to three year paid opportunity to gain on-the-job experience and classroom instruction with companies who are looking to expand their workforce here in the Indiana Uplands Region. ROI serves as the intermediary for facilitating these opportunities with schools, industry, and postsecondary institutions. The potential career pathways associated with these apprenticeships are aligned with our state and regional workforce needs which include National Security &Defense, Business &Information Technology, Health Sciences, and Advanced Manufacturing. Last year, nine high schools in the Indiana Uplands Region participated in UpSkill, and in 2023, Brown County High School has become the 10th high school to partner with ROI in the UpSkill program. Although the partnership with ROI has been strong since Brown County Schools received the Ready Schools Grant in 2018, the development of an apprenticeship program such as this has only been possible recently because of a local industry partner. Mainstream Fiber is the first local industry to say “YES” to offering a paid apprenticeship. In the early stages of this partnership, three companies in Brown County were contacted about their interest in providing a paid apprenticeship for our students. After a few email exchanges and one overview meeting about the UpSkill program, Mainstream Fiber accepted the partnership and became the first company to support high school apprentices in Brown County. It was no surprise that Mainstream emerged as the first partner in this effort.

Brown County School’s relationship, communication, and collaboration with Mainstream Fiber has been strong for many years. Mainstream Fiber provided internet connectivity for our schools many years ago, supported our efforts in obtaining the Ready Schools Grant in 2018, and sponsors our Governor’s Work Ethic Certificate through their participation in the GWEC Council. Mainstream Fiber was integral in making internet connectivity possible during the COVID shut down by adding exterior WiFi access points to our schools. We are grateful for Mainstream Fiber and their commitment to this community. Now, with this new partnership adventure, Brown County Schools hopes to give something back by preparing students who are better equipped to prepare the workforce sustainability needed in the Information Technology career pathway. Innovative industry leaders such as owner, Brian Gabriel, and IT team members like Tyler Armour are solving workforce needs through education that can be offered alongside industry experience at a high school level. It’s a perfect match! The Mainstream Fiber Apprenticeship will begin in the summer of 2023, and we hope other industry partners will emerge with an interest in accepting their own apprentices. Students at Brown County High School have already had the opportunity to complete an application, submit a resume, and be interviewed by Mainstream Fiber. The same process could be replicated with other local industry partners, so we encourage any interested companies to research more information on the UpSkill website https://regionalopportunityinc.org/upskill/ and then contact CCL Director, Christy Wrightsman.

In the past month, three students have started the process for obtaining an apprenticeship. Two students are still looking for partners to fulfill their desired career pathways, but one student, Ashlynn Mercer, a sophomore at Brown County High School, has been selected by Mainstream for the Help DeskTechnician position. While working with Mainstream Fiber over the next 2-3 years in her apprenticeship, she will serve in this entry level role and with the potential to advance to full-time employment with the company. Ashlynn will be provided a mentor along the way as ROI and Brown County Schools oversee the apprenticeship. Ashlynn’s job at Mainstream will include tasks such as:

● Ensuring timely escalation of customer problems by assigning priority and resolution determinations

● Creating, updating, and providing follow-up for tickets created in Mainstream’s customer relationship management portal

● Providing triage and support for network and circuit outages

● Following established documented procedures, and identify potential improvements

The job description posted by Mainstream for this apprenticeship stated that candidates should possess the following preferred skill set or mind-set:

● Good problem solving skills that allow for extrapolation of information from non-tech personnel

● Good communication skills with those outside the technology field

● Good communication skills for internal escalations including good documentation skills

● Interest in learning how the internet works “behind the scenes”

After interviews were held, representatives from Mainstream Fiber, Tyler Armour and Steven Davers, shared that Ashlynn brought all the qualities together. She had taken a computer class and seemed to have good knowledge of some technical skills that would allow her to respond to questions in a pleasant and concise way, which would be essential on the help desk when working with customers. Ashlynn is now looking forward to meeting her mentor, arranging her class schedule for next school year to allow for 15-20 hours of work at Mainstream Fiber, and upcoming summer training to prepare for her new role. Ashlynn said, “ I am most excited about the chance to learn from some really experienced professionals and to take what I’ve learned in the classroom and put it into practice in the real world. Working at a company like Mainstream is a huge deal for me because I know it’s going to give me all the tools and knowledge I need to be successful in my future career.” When she was asked what advice she would give to other students looking for an apprenticeship, she said, “My advice for other students would be to go out there and actively look for opportunities like apprenticeships and not to be afraid to take chances or put yourself out there.”

Brown County Schools and ROI wish Ashlynn and all the other students entering apprenticeships in the near future the very best in their career pathway. If your company is interested in partnering to provide an apprenticeship within the UpSkill program, we have students waiting to connect with you.

Christy Wrightsman is director of Career Connected Learning for Brown County Schools. She can be reached at 812-988-5880 or [email protected].

Emily Tracy is superintendent of Brown County Schools. She can be reached at 812-988-6601 or [email protected].