Claire Fiddian-Green: Indiana needs enhanced K-12 career advising

Since 2017, I’ve studied Switzerland’s youth apprenticeship system, that nation’s predominant approach to preparing students for careers. About 70% of Swiss 10th graders enter a three- or four-year paid, year-round apprenticeship in one of 245 occupations spanning the entire economy, from banking and insurance to life sciences and advanced manufacturing. At the end of their apprenticeship, approximately one-third of youth apprentices are hired full-time by their apprenticeship employer, another third earn additional degrees and the final third find employment with a different employer.

A key characteristic of the Swiss system—and what makes it appealing for teens and their parents—is the ability to transition from a vocational to an academic pathway, and vice versa. An apprenticeship isn’t a dead-end. Rather, it opens multiple doors, allowing both younger and older adults to switch career paths as their interests change and the labor market evolves.

One of the things I admire most about the Swiss youth apprenticeship system is its approach to career advising. Starting in middle school, students visit an array of companies that expose them to different sectors and career opportunities. Some companies, such as Novartis in Basel, Switzerland, even provide programming for parents and teachers so that these adult role models can better guide young people along their career paths. This is especially important in the age of automation and artificial intelligence when the jobs of tomorrow will likely look very different from the jobs of today.

Like in Indiana, school counselors in Switzerland are an important resource for students’ education and career planning. However, the Swiss government also funds regional career services centers that provide career counseling for students. The highly-skilled staff at these centers are trained in career advising, typically have industry experience and have access to the latest labor market data. Center staff regularly visit local schools to offer general programming and one-on-one counseling, coming alongside school counselors to ensure students are well-supported starting in middle school. These centers also provide advising for adults seeking a career change, maximizing the use of public resources.

Indiana’s student-to-counselor ratio ranks dead last among all 50 states, with only one counselor for every 694 students. School counselors are asked to provide both college and career advising along with mental health support and are often called upon to perform additional duties like supervising recess and lunch or substitute teaching. All of this leaves little time for one-on-one career advising. Why are we asking school counselors to do it all?

The world of work is rapidly changing and—under the direction of the Indiana Legislature and the leadership of the Indiana Department of Education—school is also undergoing significant changes as Indiana works to “reinvent high school.” In the midst of these seismic changes, we must recognize the truth: When it comes to career advising, we’re asking K-12 schools to take on too much.

Indiana should consider operating regional career services centers staffed by highly trained career advisers who work in partnership with K-12 schools. Not only would this allow school counselors to focus on a core set of job duties, but it also would ensure young people and their parents are well-supported as students make important decisions about their futures. An added benefit to this regional center model would be offering a one-stop-shop for employers seeking a local talent pipeline.

It’s time we develop an enhanced approach to K-12 career advising that better meets the needs of Indiana’s students, schools and employers, and makes the most of taxpayer dollars.•

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Fiddian-Green is president and CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, whose mission is to advance the vitality of Indianapolis and the well-being of its people. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.

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