By Beth Murphy, Director of Marketing Communications 

At Ascend Indiana, Scecina graduate Kate Carrico Broshears ’06 is helping Indiana solve a problem that’s plagued it for years: finding talent in state to fill the jobs of the 21st century, which includes plugging the “brain drain.” 

Broshears is vice president of external relations for Ascend, which connects students and early-in-career job-seekers with employers in need of employees with the right skills. 

“As a state, we are not doing a good job of retaining the talent in the state,” Broshears told those attending a Scecina Business Connection event during her presentation on Jan. 24. 

Broshears laid out the vital issue: 

• By 2025, 62 percent of Indiana jobs will require post-secondary education. 
• Only 42 percent of Central Indiana resident now have post-secondary degrees. 
• Only 62 percent of high school seniors in Indiana go on to post-secondary education; 25 percent of them need remediation. 
• To make matters worse, Indiana college graduates often leave the state for jobs elsewhere; only 55 percent remain employed in Indiana five years after graduating from college. 
• This misalignment between Indiana’s talent and its available jobs contributes to income inequality.

 According to Ascend, the region is not producing enough workers for key industries such as information technology, manufacturing, logistics, and financial services. The labor market will trail demand by more than 200,000 workers. 

These are the reasons why Ascend was created as a nonprofit startup in 2015 by Jason Kloth, a former Indianapolis deputy mayor for education who previously spent seven years with Teach for America. 

Broshears’ first position with Ascend was as director of development and communication, helping Ascend raise over $9 million to start up. Ascend partners with Indiana employers to learn their talent needs and with higher education to identify students with relevant skills. Ascend helps students then connect with internships and part-time and full-time jobs with the partner employers. 

Broshears said it was exciting to join a startup with such a vision and mission. “No one else in the country is doing this,” she said. 

You can learn more about Ascend by clicking here. 

The Scecina Business Connection is a networking group made up of alumni, parents, friends, and businesses. It works to strengthen the Scecina Community by increasing the business and professional connections within it.