Giving Compass' Take:

• Kenzie Academy's apprenticeship program recruits students interested in pursuing careers in tech who are thinking of alternative post-secondary education options.  

• More apprenticeship and CTE programs are becoming popular recently. How do these types of schools impact the higher education landscape? 

• Read about other apprenticeship programs and the various approaches. 


Unlike many of his peers, Dylan Fields, a high school senior in a small town just north of here, has long known what he wants to do for a career. But like many others, Fields had no idea how to get from where he was to where he dreamed of being.

Problem was, Fields, 17, didn’t how to get from Zionsville — a suburb of 26,000 — to a high-paying job as a software engineer. He visited colleges like Purdue and Vanderbilt universities and the University of Chicago, but the visits left him hesitant about whether formal postsecondary education was right for him.

Then, in January, Fields shadowed his older cousin at Kenzie Academy, a tech-focused apprenticeship school that had just opened in downtown Indianapolis. He was struck by the hands-on nature of the program.

With its flipped classroom model, much of Kenzie’s formal content learning takes place after hours or in the first part of the morning, and students spend the rest of the day working with their coach, instructor, and classmates to try out new skills.

With millions more jobs requiring at least some postsecondary education but student loan debt totaling more than $1.5 trillion, students, parents, and employers are all eager for alternatives to college. Kenzie co-founder Chok Ooi, who tinkered with computers as a teenager in his native Malaysia, is betting he can help fill the gap.

Students will begin their apprenticeship once they reach their second year. The school, Kenzie Academy, is developing a consultancy arm, Kenzie Studios, where apprentices will work with experienced technologists and attempt to apply what they’ve learned for paying customers.

The hope, Ooi said, is that the apprentices will collect a yet-to-be-determined apprentice wage while building relationships that could lead to post-graduation employment.

Read the full article about Kenzie Academy by Brendan Lowe at The 74