INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Each week on Community Link, Carolene Mays takes a look at an organization or business that is making a positive impact on the community.

This week, Mays was joined by Jamal Sylvester, director of workforce development at Marian University St. Joseph’s college. He joined to share the Earn and Learn program at the college to serve a diverse student population.

The program started in 2019 when leadership went to Switzerland and learned about a system where high school students spend half the day at school and the other half at a professional place of employment.

The administration then looked at how they could adapt that model for the college.

“Our first-year students go to class Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then they go to a job on Thursday and Friday. They can work up to 20 hours a week during the school year,” Sylvester said.

It’s Sylvester’s job to connect students to jobs, “to facilitate conversations with employers, businesses, organizations who may have the financial capacity, but more importantly, they have a talent solution need.”

Earn and Learn provides a unique opportunity for students to get ready for their post-college career.

“I think the most important thing is you get to equip those students with real life world experience as they’re getting their education,” Sylvester said.

To learn more about the Earn and Learn program, watch the video above.