Under the new Indiana High School diploma, schools had to suddenly keep track of every students' work-based learning hours.
There was no easy way to keep industry partners in the loop, or students’ families.
Kara Yates with the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (EREP), said school administrators were using spreadsheets, google docs and even sheets of paper to track hundreds of students’ hours.
“There's no communication between all of them, so erepio, our new software, allows everyone — so industry partners, educators, parents, and students-to all be able to see what's happening, create work-based learning plans, and track their hours to accomplish the diploma.”
EREP launched Phase 1 of erepio this week. Yates said it’s about producing a talent pipeline.
“In real time we're going to be able to see which industry partners, which industries have the most need, the most support, kind of what skills our students are learning.”
While this phase is about students, Yates hopes erepio can eventually help pull individuals out of poverty.
“I have this dream that if we can really dig down into what skills are matching, that we're going to find that some of these folks who aren't making a living wage have the majority of the skills to kind of move over and fill some of these gaps in our region.”
There are two other phases which seek to connect individuals — not just students — to fill the jobs in the area. Phase 2 includes their version of a job board which focuses on skills, not job titles.
Phase 3 will come out next year. Yates said it's really more of a career pathway.
"So the example I always use is if I'm a Phlebotomist, and I'd like to be a full-time RN — How do I do that? What's that career path look like? What are those different ladder rungs that need to pass? And so, partnering with higher ed and really finding opportunities to give those mini credentials, to give those certifications, to earn those skills, so you can continue to grow in your job."
While focused on servicing Vanderburgh, Posey, Gibson and Warrick Counties now, EREP hopes to eventually take this initiative statewide. So far their work with erepio is grant funded.
The erepio digital program will go live this fall.
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