Indiana
Information Technology Operations
Cybersecurity
Vision
The seamless IT Operations and Cybersecurity pathway with program supports and delivery options will allow students to earn an associate's degree and enter an in-demand, good job on an accelerated timeline for free. Upon pathway completion, students will have a clear path to a four-year degree.
Overview
The Indianapolis team is working to design a comprehensive pathway in Information Technology Operations / Cybersecurity that blurs the line between secondary and postsecondary. Students will earn an associate degree at the end of Year 13 will have expanded opportunities through existing delivery models such as the dual credit program, Associate Accelerated Program (ASAP), and/or Modern Apprenticeship (MAP).
Organizations / Entities Represented on Design Team
EmployIndy
MSD Warren Township/Walker Career Center
Indianapolis Public Schools
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Ivy Tech Indianapolis
Purdue Global
TeenWorks
The Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce
Ascend Indiana
The Governor’s Workforce Cabinet
Amazon Web Services
Student Voice
Internships are so important. Nextech took us all around Indiana, brought in workers, and talked about their work life was like. It puts you into the ambience and working with people alongside you that you’ve never met. Realizing their passion makes you passionate. If I compare it to a class, right now all students would be sleeping. It automatically just gets you pumped.
- High School Student
Highlights
Recognizing that internships or apprenticeships in IT will be difficult to secure for all students in the pathway, the design team will tailor a version of Catapult, a fully-immersive program for rising high school juniors and seniors who aspire for a career in technology, to serve other students in the pathway. Currently taking place during the summer and taught by a licensed computer science teacher, participants develop technical skills, create authentic peer relationships, improve workplace readiness, create plans for postsecondary success, and build deep roots for a lifelong personal and professional connection to Indiana.
Some students in the pathway will take part in Indy's Modern Apprenticeship (MAP), which is a two- to three-year program designed to prepare Central Indiana high school students for the workforce with paid, hands-on experience that complements their traditional coursework. Apprentices start in their junior year, and those participating in this pathway can pursue jobs in tech roles. Afterward, they can continue on to a college degree or jump right into the workforce.
Ivy Tech Community College will offer Career Link support to students, which includes access to individual coaching to develop their interests, strengths, and career objectives; tools to explore today’s careers that provide meaningful insight into the labor market; resources to develop employability skills needed to become career ready in today’s global workforce; support in securing career experiences in and out of the classroom; and employers and career opportunities in fields of interest.
Indiana: Accelerate ED Blueprint Presentation
The Indiana design team's presentation at the Nov. 2022 Accelerate ED convening.