Will Indiana’s push to expand apprenticeships leave Black men behind?

When Brandis Stanley walked into his interview for a union electrical apprenticeship program, he was nervous and jittery.

On the surface, Stanley was a promising candidate. He’d already passed the program’s required basic education test. He had a college degree and was no stranger to hard work, having worked in warehouses and driving forklifts.

But Stanley didn’t have much construction experience.

“I just went in there off a prayer,” he said.

He was intimidated by the questions he was asked, and by the end of the interview, Stanley was sure it was over for him. But there was one upside. On his way out the door, the man who interviewed him handed Stanley a card for a program that helps prepare people for construction apprenticeships.

That man, Devon Doss, was the program’s director — and getting in touch with him is the golden ticket for many people who want to be apprentices in Indianapolis.

Apprenticeships — a combination of work experience and classroom learning — are one of the few routes to a high-paying job without a college degree or the debt that often comes with higher education. That’s especially true in a world where fewer men are choosing to go to college. Most apprentices are men, both in Indiana and nationally.

But the reality is that a long history of racism within construction unions has blocked people’s paths to these opportunities, even after the federal government prohibited discrimination in unions in the 1940s.

As of Dec. 19, about 9% of participants in Indianapolis apprenticeship programs last year were Black men, according to recent federal data, despite making up 27% of the county’s male population.

 

Officials for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development declined to be interviewed for this story. Instead, a spokesperson for the department provided Mirror Indy with a statement, which said that “DWD is not involved with hiring for apprenticeship programs and leaves all hiring to the employers.”

But state officials have previously recognized the lack of diversity in apprenticeship programs.

In 2020, then-Gov. Eric Holcomb called on state leaders to propose adjustments to workforce programs “to create greater opportunity for people of color.”

The final set of recommendations didn’t specifically address apprenticeships. However, officials called for more minorities to get trained in high-demand industries, including construction trades. The report also proposed better data for tracking wages and job placements for minorities who complete state training programs.

This is in sharp contrast to how Gov. Mike Braun has approached diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Shortly after he was sworn in earlier this year, Braun issued an executive order to close the state’s diversity, equity and inclusion office. He vowed to replace those efforts with “merit, excellence and innovation,” essentially removing any discussions of diversity or race from state offices or programs.

Braun’s office did not respond to multiple requests for an interview or for comment for this story. The Department of Workforce Development did not address Mirror Indy’s questions about diversity in apprenticeships or the Holcomb administration’s efforts.

Despite change at the state level, Doss’ goal remains the same — get people into construction apprenticeships. The Indiana Plan is over 50 years old, started in 1970 as part of a federal effort to diversify the construction industry.
 

Doss completed the program in 1997 and returned to lead the plan after a career as a union electrician.

Today, he draws on his experience as a Black man in a predominantly white industry to help his students learn and get ahead.

“We're investing in the future of not only these individuals, but we're investing in the future of our state, our communities,” Doss said. “We're investing in the future because we're giving people better opportunities.”

College, career or both?

At Christian Mintze’s college prep high school, post-grad decisions were more about deciding where to go rather than whether to go.

Mintze went off to IU Bloomington to study merchandising several years ago. But he always felt more like he was checking off a box rather than actually taking a step forward.

“I was always telling myself, I'm going to at least try,” Mintze, now 22, said. “My plan was to finish four years. But life happens in mysterious ways.”

Mintze’s plan was upended when he moved back to Indianapolis after his sophomore year because of family commitments. To him, moving back was a sign. It was time to move on from college and try something new.

So Mintze turned to the trades, with the hopes of a high salary and the hands-on work he enjoyed. He ended up getting a job with a local electrical contractor to get his foot in the door. This fall, he enrolled in Doss’ program with the intention of making professional connections and improving his interview skills.

“I just think that it's a good long-term setup,” Mintze said. “It's pretty enjoyable.”

Many students in Doss’ program, including Mintze, want to pursue apprenticeships because they didn’t want to go to college, or because they tried college and it didn’t work for them.

“College may not be their thing, that type of education may not be their thing,” Doss said. “This right here fits, where you do hands-on and education all in one.”
 

Indiana is rethinking college right now. In Marion County, just 47% of high school graduates went to college in 2023 — down 17 percentage points from a decade earlier in 2013, according to state data. Rates were even lower for Black and male students, who enrolled in college at rates of 44% and 42% in 2023, respectively.

Cost is the number one reason Indiana students skip out on college, according to research from the Commission for Higher Education.

And, that’s an area where apprenticeship shines. Training through labor unions is free, and students get paid well over the minimum wage to work while completing their studies.

What many apprentices don’t know when they start out is they actually will earn a degree by the time they’re done. As part of a partnership with Ivy Tech, union apprentices in the building trades earn an associate degree in applied science as part of their apprenticeship studies.

The difference is apprentices are getting paid to get their degree — not the other way around.

Mintze is open to getting his bachelor’s degree eventually. But right now, he’s focused on getting admitted to the electrician’s apprenticeship program.

“I'm locked into this,” he said.

Class vibes

On the first day of Doss’ two-week apprenticeship prep class, he gave his students homework.

Create a new email address that’s your first and last name only, he told them. Rerecord your voicemail inviting the caller to leave a message, instead of playing “Return of the Mack.” Cover up face tattoos during interviews.

“We're talking about society,” he told his students in September. “When society sees things that make them nervous, they don't necessarily open up and engage.”
 

Though obvious to some, not everyone gets advice this straightforward. Doss clues his students in on exactly what to expect and what they should do and say to be accepted to apprenticeship programs. These so-called soft skills — such as interviewing, time management and professionalism — are not so much taught as learned over years.

Telling students that changing their habits and mannerisms will help them in the workplace is a harsh truth. But Doss feels accepting that reality is a small price to pay for a high-paying career in the trades.

“When you think about it, where can you go and plan to work 30 years and have a good retirement, as well as a livable wage?” he asked. “Nowadays, it really doesn't exist around here outside of the trades.”

An interest in the trades doesn’t guarantee acceptance. While the application process differs from union to union, many students will be expected to pass a basic education or math test and interview with industry professionals.
 

Doss’ students are gearing up for a cutthroat process. Less than 15% of students who applied for electrical apprenticeships last year were accepted, according to Andre Grocox, head of the apprenticeship training institute.

The Indiana Plan is similarly competitive. Doss runs four two-week sessions a year, each admitting about 30 students with the top scores on a basic adult education exam taken at orientation. Students also need a valid driver’s license, clean drug test and a high school diploma or GED. Once in the class, they’re expected to show up on time every day.

These expectations align with the ones students would have to meet to get accepted into an apprenticeship program.

Throughout the class, students also hear from former participants who completed the program and are now working as apprentices. Doss wants his students to see what their future could look like.

“Somebody in that class will relate to (that apprentice) more than they relate to me,” said Doss. “Now that person has a different level of motivation.”
 

The nonprofit recently received $200,000 in grant funding from United Way of Central Indiana and $30,000 total from the Yvonne Perkins Legacy Fund, which gives money to educational programs that reduce barriers for the Black community in Indianapolis.

Pre-apprenticeships, the official name for prep classes such as the Indiana Plan, have been shown to improve diversity because preparation can even the playing field for students.

In its provided statement, the Department of Workforce Development said the state is “dedicated to expanding capacity” to both apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships, especially in advanced manufacturing and education.

But it’s unclear to what extent the state plans to invest in these types of programs, and race almost certainly won’t be part of the conversation.
 

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump pushed workforce officials to create a plan to reach 1 million apprentices. As of Dec. 19, there are just over 700,000 apprentices in the U.S., according to federal data.

And starting next fall, Indiana’s pushing high school students to explore careers through apprenticeships. The state’s already changed its graduation requirements to accommodate more time for work in high school.

Doss’ program isn’t the only construction training program in Marion County. But it is the only one focused specifically on getting people into union construction apprenticeships, which tend to pay more.

Recently, demand for the program has far outpaced what Doss can keep up with. For his December class, he got nearly 500 applications for just 32 spots.

“There's more opportunities out there,” he said. “I definitely think it needs to be expanded.”

Finding your way

When he started at the Indiana Plan, Stanley was dead set on becoming an electrician.

He’d already passed his introductory test, already interviewed for the program once. In his head, it was basically a done deal — he was ready to start wiring lights.

But when the class toured the electrical training institute, Stanley was alarmed to learn that he’d regularly have to install wiring while suspended several hundred feet in the air.

“I'm thinking, that ain't my thing at all,” said Stanley.

Unlike college, where students can change their major up to a certain point, apprenticeships are primarily focused on one trade. Students who enter the plumbing apprenticeship, for example, are on track to be plumbers, and there’s not a lot of wiggle room.

That’s why the Indiana Plan aims to expose students to all different types of trades, from carpentry and plumbing to painting. The goal of the class isn’t just for students to get into an apprenticeship — it’s that they take the path that’s right for them.
 

For Stanley, that path started to emerge when a representative from the operating engineers union came to speak to the students. Workers in that trade operate heavy construction equipment such as cranes and bulldozers.

Stanley has spent the last five years driving forklifts. Before that, he worked in a factory assembling tractors. He’s had a lot of experience with machinery, but he didn’t even know operating engineer was a union trade.

“It opened my eyes,” Stanley said, “Like, hey, that's something that I could get into.”

Shortly after Stanley completed the Indiana Plan in September, he applied to the operating engineers union, though he hasn’t heard anything back. Per the union’s website, they open applications in the spring.

Though Stanley’s eager for a change, he can wait. He's working his forklift job, waiting for a call from the union.

Through the process, Stanley’s been thinking of his son. He wants to be a role model for his son and set him up for a better future.

“It ain't for me,” said Stanley. “It's really for him.”

This story was produced with support from the Education Writers Association Reporting Fellowship program.

Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire by email claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org, on most social media @clairerafford or on Signal 317-759-0429.