On September 17, 2026, the Embassy of Switzerland organized a Senate briefing titled Modern Careers in the USA with Swiss-Inspired Apprenticeships. The event spotlighted the State of Indiana and its successful adaptation of the Swiss apprenticeship model. With the support of Senator Todd Young (R-IN), the briefing was held in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Indiana is home to the innovative Indiana Career Apprenticeship Pathway (INCAP), which has introduced new initiatives to accelerate apprenticeship opportunities in critical sectors, including IT and cybersecurity, financial services, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing.

The briefing focused on concrete lessons and successful policy approaches, bringing together U.S. Senate staff working on education and economic development issues, as well as representatives from industry and Washington, D.C.-based workforce organizations. The exchange explored how Indiana’s experience and elements of the Swiss apprenticeship model can inform efforts to expand work-based learning across the United States.

Ambassador Ralf Heckner opened the session by emphasizing the value of sharing best practices from Switzerland’s apprenticeship system. He highlighted Indiana as a leader in expanding apprenticeships in the United States, pointing to its CEMETS iLab, inspired by the CEMETS Institute at ETH Zurich, as an important contributor to these efforts. In October, Indiana will also host the U.S. CEMETS Institute in Indianapolis, bringing together representatives from 15 U.S. states. The bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on apprenticeships between Switzerland and the United States provides a framework to support this work at the state and local levels..

A panel discussion followed, moderated by Claire Fiddian-Green, President and CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, and David Becker, CEO of First Internet Bank. The panel brought together representatives with diverse experience in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs. Participants included Robert Head, Apprenticeship Program Manager at Endress+Hauser, alongside Kenny Wrede, an apprentice at the company. The discussion also featured Laurent Ellenrieder, Director of Operations USA at Medartis Inc., and Chris Brunner, Senior Manager of HR Operations, Americas Region at Astemo, representing companies newer to apprenticeship programs.

The panelists shared practical lessons from their programs and underscored the importance of strong business and industry involvement in making apprenticeships successful. Kenny Wrede offered a firsthand perspective as an apprentice, explaining that the program gave him meaningful exposure to industry and helped him develop a clearer sense of the career path he wanted to pursue. He highlighted hands-on learning and working alongside like-minded colleagues as particularly valuable aspects of the experience. His message to employers was clear: young people often have more potential than they are given credit for. The briefing concluded with a Q&A session moderated by Ms. Fiddian-Green. As Ambassador Heckner highlighted, the event exemplified what he described as “Swiss Impact”: working in partnership with American counterparts to achieve measurable results that benefit both countries.