INDIANAPOLIS (March 3, 2025) – iXplore™, an immersive technology solutions provider for forward-thinking talent leaders, today announces it will join a coalition of leaders on a trip to Zurich, Switzerland with CEMETS iLab Indiana, an organization focused on building a new education and training pathway rooted in a youth apprenticeship experience starting in high school. During the trip, coalition members will learn about Switzerland’s acclaimed professional and vocational education and training systems that focus on the importance of apprenticeships for students. Heather Jackson, CEO of iXplore, is going on the trip as part of the IT/microelectronics industry cohort.
“The Swiss model allows young people to discover a larger breadth of career opportunities well before they make those important decisions about the next steps in their education pathway, whether that’s higher ed or a work-based learning track or both,” said Jackson. “I’m looking forward to taking the knowledge we learn in Zurich and using it to make the immersive technology experiences iXplore provides to industries of all kinds even richer and more compelling. I’m excited to learn more about the Swiss system with like-minded leaders who understand the opportunity we have for Indiana to become a global leader in broadening the scope of possibilities for young people.”
This will be CEMETS iLab Indiana’s third time bringing Indiana industry leaders to Switzerland to study their vocational and professional training systems. Switzerland is known to be the global gold standard for preparing young people for careers and meeting the talent needs of employers, which it achieves through a strong tri-part structure consisting of business, education, and government.
During the trip, the delegation will learn about and observe the Swiss vocational and professional education and training (VPET) system while engaging in discussions about expansion of the Indiana Career Apprenticeship Pathway that iLab Indiana is currently working to develop within the tech industry.
According to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, by 2031, 72 percent of U.S. jobs will require education beyond high school. Yet only about 53 percent of Indiana’s high school graduates enroll in college within one year of graduation, according to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
“Immersive technology is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to building iLab Indiana and filling in the gaps for what the Swiss term “job sniffing,” said Jackson. “Through our regionally-driven content and roadshows, students can discover and try their hand at jobs from manufacturing to finance and everything in between without ever leaving their school or event. This kind of technology gets our next generation excited about the backpack of possibilities that are available to them and builds a talent pipeline other states will envy for years to come.”
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