Building an Apprenticeship System in Indiana: How the Hoosier State is Adapting the Swiss Model

In part two of their series on apprenticeships, Jeff talks with Claire Fiddian-Green, president and CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, about Indiana’s ambitious efforts to adapt lessons from Switzerland’s gold-standard model. They explore how Indiana is transforming high school graduation requirements, building industry-led talent associations, and designing scalable pathways that center real-world work experience. The conversation covers the challenges of shifting culture, coordinating stakeholders, and ensuring permeability between career and college tracks—all with the goal of making apprenticeships a respected and rigorous route to success after high school. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group.Publications Mentioned“No Time to Lose: How to Build a World-Class Education System State by State,” - The National Council of State LegislaturesApprentice Nation: How the "Earn and Learn" Alternative to Higher Education Will Create a Stronger and Fairer America, - Ryan Craig “Career and Technical Education for All,”  - Daniel Curtis and Michael B. HornChapters0:00 - Intro3:32 - Focusing Indiana on CTE5:00 - Applying Lessons Learned from Swiss Apprenticeship in Indiana8:05 - Building an Apprenticeship System at Scale10:58 - Adjusting Graduation Requirements13:52 - The Keys to Successful Stakeholder Collaboration in Indiana15:10 - Centering Permeability19:05 - States in the Lead on Apprenticeship21:56 - Putting Employers in the Driver’s Seat26:30 - Carving Out Apprenticeship Pathways in High Schools31:30 - Bringing it Back to the Why