Contact: Tom Evenson, (608) 266-2839
MADISON – Governor Scott Walker joined Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Ray Allen today to celebrate Youth Apprenticeship (YA) Day with visits to both Bradley Tech High School in Milwaukee and Amery High School in Amery. Governor Walker proclaimed September 26 as Youth Apprenticeship Day in Wisconsin in support of efforts to get students engaged in career pathways and programs to ensure a robust talent pipeline for generations to come.
“Youth Apprenticeship Day gives us the opportunity to highlight the impact that the expanded Youth Apprenticeship program is having on high school students across Wisconsin,” Governor Walker said. “In the recently signed budget, we make investments in our future workforce while creating new jobs for them right here in Wisconsin.”
Under Governor Walker, funding for the Youth Apprenticeship program has more than doubled since 2012, from $1.6 million to $3.2 million in 2016. This past June, the Governor announced a record $3.9 million in Youth Apprenticeship state grants which will serve 4,300 students across Wisconsin.
The YA program is administered by the DWD with funds awarded to local consortiums that work with employers and high schools to pair students up with an employer. The participating students are enrolled in academic classes while they are employed and receive hands-on instruction from a mentor.
At Bradley Tech in Milwaukee, Governor Walker met with and viewed a demonstration from Youth Apprentices in their construction program. Last year, the two YA consortiums represented at today’s Bradley Tech event, the Milwaukee Public School (MPS) YA Regional Consortium and the new Milwaukee County Career Plus YA Regional Consortium, served just under 50 students. Combined this year, they plan to enroll over 275 students in 9 program areas, 5 times more than last year.
At Amery High School, Governor Walker met with Youth Apprentices currently working in the Finance YA program at the school’s on-site branch of WESTconsin Credit Union and the local Bremer Bank. Amery is part of the CESA 11 YA Consortium which served over 250 students in the last school year and plans to serve nearly 350 this year.
The statewide YA program offers up to 11 career programs for students to pursue such as Agriculture, Food, and natural Resources, Architecture and Construction, Art, Audio/Visual Technology, and Communications, Finance, Health Science, Hospitality and Tourism, Information Technology, Manufacturing, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics, and Marketing.
Youth Apprenticeship Day takes place during Workforce Development Month, which Governor Walker proclaimed for September to highlight the state’s talent development efforts to provide Wisconsin employers with a sustainable pipeline of workers to help grow the economy.
Learn more about the Department of Workforce Development’s Youth Apprenticeship program:
http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/youthapprenticeship/
Read the Governor’s Proclamation for Youth Apprenticeship Day:
http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/pdf/170926_youth_apprenticeship_day.pdf
