Intermediaries Advancing Work-Based Learning in Indiana
Work-based learning (WBL) helps students gain real-world experience, develop career-ready skills, and explore pathways to college and employment. As states, school systems, and employers expand WBL opportunities, many are seeking effective ways to connect partners, coordinate activities, and build sustainable systems that benefit students and employers alike.
AIR partnered with Ascend Indiana to examine how intermediary organizations help expand and sustain high-quality work-based learning opportunities. Indiana provides a valuable case study, having emerged as a national leader in career readiness through initiatives such as its redesigned high school diploma and readiness seals that connect learning to future college and career goals.
Our Work
Funded by AIR's Opportunity Fund, this research explored the role intermediaries play in building and sustaining effective work-based learning systems. Through this work, AIR:
- Identified the key roles intermediaries play in connecting employers, schools, and learners;
- Examined the supports intermediaries need to expand and sustain high-quality WBL opportunities;
- Analyzed Indiana's policy landscape and statewide resources, including tools that support intermediary organizations; and
- Documented strategies for employer engagement and school capacity building that help strengthen work-based learning systems.
Stephanie Veck
Principal TA Consultant
Indiana’s experience suggests that scaling work-based learning is not simply a question of expanding programs. It is a system design challenge that depends on strong intermediary organizations, aligned partners, and sustained investment.
Stephanie Veck
Principal TA Consultant
Understanding the Cost of Work-Based Learning Intermediaries
AIR is also finalizing a cost study to estimate the resources needed for intermediary organizations to:
- Build employer participation;
- Expand schools' capacity to offer work-based learning opportunities;
- Develop and manage system infrastructure;
- Strengthen cross-sector partnerships; and
- Support implementation of state work-based learning policies.
Drawing on interviews and operational cost data, the study estimates the investments required to support both state-approved work-based learning programs and broader career exploration activities. The findings will help policymakers, funders, educators, and practitioners make informed decisions about sustaining and scaling effective work-based learning systems.
Why It Matters
Intermediary organizations often serve as the connective tissue between employers, schools, and learners, yet limited evidence exists about the resources required to support their work. By examining both the functions and costs of intermediaries, AIR and Ascend Indiana are helping states and communities better understand how to build, sustain, and scale work-based learning systems that expand access to career-connected learning opportunities and support long-term economic mobility.
