Indiana Hits Milestone With Its 100th State Earn and Learn Program

Indiana’s Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship celebrated the creation of its 100th job training program Thursday for Hoosiers to get paid while they learn a new job. 

State Earn and Learn programs, or SEALs, are for high school students or adults with little work experience. Trainees earn money and job certifications. Most of the programs are based around six economic sectors that the state predicts will grow and have a high demand for workers. The latest program will be for high school students to get experience building infrastructure like roads and bridges.

Margi Brooks is vice president of Brooks Construction Company, which plans to partner with Garrett High School in northeast Indiana to launch the latest SEAL program in horizontal construction. She says more public infrastructure projects need to be built, but there's simply a shortage of workers. 

“Companies like us, we’re busy and we need people,” she said. “Hardworking, safety-minded, can-do people to join the construction industry to continue to power the great growth that’s happening here in Indiana.”

The state began creating SEAL programs in 2018 as part of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Next Level agenda.