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 Legislatures

Apprentice 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. Horn

Chapters

0:00 - Intro
3:32 - Focusing Indiana on CTE
5:00 - Applying Lessons Learned from Swiss Apprenticeship in Indiana
8:05 - Building an Apprenticeship System at Scale
10:58 - Adjusting Graduation Requirements
13:52 - The Keys to Successful Stakeholder Collaboration in Indiana
15:10 - Centering Permeability
19:05 - States in the Lead on Apprenticeship
21:56 - Putting Employers in the Driver’s Seat
26:30 - Carving Out Apprenticeship Pathways in High Schools
31:30 - Bringing it Back to the Why