For the last five years, the Regional Opportunities Initiatives (ROI) UpSkill Work & Learn apprenticeship program has helped guide students to career paths in the Indiana Uplands and provide employers a talent pipeline.
In its first year, UpSkill launched with 27 students and 12 employers. The fifth cohort includes 60 students and 28 employers. On May 28, ROI celebrated UpSkill’s five-year milestone by hosting a signing event for its largest cohort yet at WestGate Academy.
During the ceremony, the room was filled with an excited energy as students took center stage, pen in hand, to officially begin their apprenticeships, while their soon-to-be employers and school officials stood alongside them. Companies brought swag, shirts, and gift baskets to welcome their new hires, and school representatives looked on with pride as parents cheered from the crowd.
The event, hosted by ROI, also included an orientation for students, employers, and parents.
From advanced manufacturing and engineering to education and business, UpSkill welcomed new employer partners, including Amentum, which is launching its involvement with four apprentices. Longtime partner SAIC also expanded its commitment, bringing on its largest group yet with 10 apprentices.
“This is a record-setting signing day for UpSkill, and in our fifth year, that milestone means even more,” said Jen Staab, Director of Career Connected Learning. “It shows how far we’ve come and how many people now believe in apprenticeship as a powerful path forward.”
This year’s cohort also marks a significant expansion in opportunity. For the first time, students from the Indiana Uplands High School Microelectronics Academy will enter apprenticeships with companies. Loogootee High School senior Abraham Wagler will begin his apprenticeship with Reliable MicroSystems next school year. The hands-on experience is what drew him to the program.
“At school, we went on tours of different businesses, and when we visited Reliable MicroSystems, it was cool to see what they were doing,” he said. “A tour is nice, but you don’t see a full workday. This apprenticeship is definitely an important step in my career path.”
Wagler, who is interested in microelectronics and electrical engineering, said the experience will help him better understand the field and build connections. He hopes those connections will lead to a career that allows him to stay in the Indiana Uplands region after graduation.
Other students echoed that same sense of curiosity and opportunity. Mitchell High School junior Boston True will begin his apprenticeship with PRD, Inc., gaining hands-on experience in a manufacturing environment. “It’s just really exciting to have this opportunity,” he said. “I want to learn what a job like that is really like.”
PRD President Mark Murphy said that early exposure is exactly what makes the UpSkill program valuable—not just for students like True, but for the workforce as a whole. “Everybody talks about not being able to find people,” Murphy said. “This is a big piece of the puzzle. It gives students real work experience and helps connect what they’re learning in school to what they will actually do.”
Murphy added that these experiences can be transformative, helping students better understand both their education and their career paths.
Parents say the program offers something just as important: clarity and confidence.
“I am grateful for it,” said Karmen Wagler, Abraham’s mother. “He’s getting to talk with people who have years of experience in something he’s interested in. He won’t know what he likes unless he gets to try it.”
She said the experience broadens students’ understanding of what is possible after high school, while allowing them to earn money as they explore potential career paths.
Across the program, that connection is already producing results. About 75 percent of apprentices continue to work with their employer after completing the program, demonstrating the long-term impact of early workforce engagement and helping fuel growth.
“Over five years, we’ve seen steady growth—not just in the number of students and employers involved, but in the strength of those connections,” Staab said. “We’re continuing to welcome new partners while others deepen their commitment. Seeing so many students go on to work with their employers shows just how meaningful early experiences can be.”