Mark Murphy is President of PRD, Inc., an Indiana manufacturer providing plastic injection molding and related tool building, including design, engineering, construction and sampling. He is also a firm believer and determined advocate for partnering with local high schools and apprenticeship programs.
“I’ve been really involved in work-based learning because I kind of lived it myself,” he said. After high school, he enrolled at Indiana State University (ISU) with no real-world experience and no idea of what career he wanted or how to prepare for it. He started on an accounting track primarily because he was good at math. “But one day I went over to ISU’s new technology school and discovered the SIM Computer Integrated Manufacturing Lab—basically robots, automation and other cool toys. There were automated storage and retrieval systems, guided vehicles. And I thought, yeah, I’m going to try this.” He was hooked, changed his major and ultimately earned a degree in Computer Integrated Manufacturing Technology.
On reflection, he believes even a junior high school career exploration program could have provided an early start to his ultimate career success. In 2022, he became involved with Upskill Work and Learn (Upskill), a regional youth apprenticeship program that matches high school students with local companies. Upskill allows students to earn a paycheck, gain career credentials and take college courses while continuing their high school education.
Upskill and other localized apprenticeship efforts in Indiana are part of a much bigger statewide effort to transform how students and adults prepare for high-demand careers. The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation provided grant funding beginning with the Modern Youth Apprenticeship pilot in 2020 and has continued investing in workforce innovation through iLab Indiana — a coalition of 300+ state business, education, nonprofit and government leaders committed to reimagining career learning and training.
Through this coalition, Indiana leaders designed and are now building the Indiana Career Apprenticeship Pathway (INCAP) — an employer-led, Swiss-inspired apprenticeship system that blends classroom learning with paid, on-the-job training starting in high school and extending into adult career advancement. INCAP partners with employers through Industry Talent Associations (ITAs), which help define the skills and competencies students need, co-create curriculum, and ensure training aligns with real workforce needs. Funding from the Fairbanks Foundation supports creation of ITAs, regional implementation infrastructure, student recruitment, and employer engagement — all aimed at building scalable and sustainable pathways like Upskill so Indiana can train, retain, and grow talent at scale.
Through Upskill, PRD made its first formal apprenticeship hire—a local high school student named Maddie who aspired to an engineering career. “When she started, she was like a deer in headlights,” Mark recalled. “She was quiet and, because this was all new, didn’t have a lot of confidence.” Brandon, a PRD electrical engineer with a Purdue degree was chosen as Maddie’s mentor and, because she was the first apprenticeship at the company, there wasn’t yet a formal training program. “We kind of made it up as we went,” Mark said. “We developed a project-based apprenticeship.” Brandon assigned Maddie engineering support activities and eventually she began designing her own projects. One of her final projects near the end of her high school graduation was to create a digital mirror of PRD’s floor plan, simplifying the addition of new equipment and improving efficiency.
By that time, she had gained confidence and maturity, both in evidence when she was invited to participate in a panel at a national apprenticeship conference in Indianapolis before an audience of more than 300. Her father was there to provide the parent’s perspective, as well. “She did a great job,” Mark said, “and that led to more panels and interviews. But that national conference was definitely her biggest stage, and she nailed it.”
Now an engineering student at University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Maddie continues to return to PRD where she continues her apprenticeship during holiday and summer breaks from USI.
The objective of the INCAP program is to help Hoosier youth develop as home-grown skilled talent—future employees who recognize the opportunities and advantages for well-paid careers close to home. Mark pointed out that the migration of Indiana’s career-ready skilled workforce to out-of-state employers was an issue in the state even before the COVID-19 pandemic and continues today. “This has been an ongoing issue for Indiana manufacturing employers,” he said. “I hope that now that we have a potential solution, more employers will step up. Employer recruitment is key.”
Some manufacturers express concern about the return on investment (ROI) of onboarding an apprentice, but Mark takes a holistic view to welcoming student-apprentices into the company. He is working with PRD’s local schools to establish schedules incorporating both the student’s school-based education and the paid apprenticeship. Both the classroom and the paid apprenticeship are essential to a success reflected by the diploma the student is earning, and neither can be shortchanged.
Mark assesses the effect the ITA provides to the community as “good community relations for our company. It supports both the community and our students.” Two additional students are now enrolled in the company’s apprenticeship program, and PRD’s 130-person workforce has embraced the concept of the apprenticeship program and welcomed the students.
Indiana manufacturing and logistics employers interested in deploying an apprenticeship program with the support of Conexus and the INCAP program can contact Jeremy Eltz, Conexus’ Sr. Director of Talent, at [email protected].