Contact: Tom Evenson, (608) 266-2839

Madison – Governor Scott Walker released his Weekly Radio Address today titled “Investing in the Future of Wisconsin’s Workforce.”

Hi, Scott Walker here.

We celebrated Fab Lab Day this week. I joined Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, Secretary Mark Hogan – the head of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross, and several other state leaders as we traveled Wisconsin to award 21 school districts with Fab Lab Grants. 

Fab labs, or fabrication laboratories, are high-tech workshops in high schools that provide hands-on experience in science, technology, engineering, and math.

The grants help schools purchase equipment to develop a fab lab or to expand an existing one.  With our latest awards, there are fab labs all over the state. And Wisconsin is now a national leader in this area.

Fab labs are a unique addition to a school’s curriculum, giving students a jump start on a career. They provide students with real-life experience in the global economy – even before they graduate from high school. 

Our state budget doubles our commitment to fab labs so that more high schools in Wisconsin have access to these important tools. This is on top of historic investments in K-12 education in our state budget plan. 

As a parent of two sons who went through public schools here in Wisconsin, and the uncle of two nieces in public schools still today, I want them, and every other child, to have access to a great education. Our budget helps improve student success. 

It also helps build a strong workforce. Last week, our state website, jobcenterofwisconsin.com, had more than 100,000 job openings listed on it. We now have more people working in Wisconsin than ever before. That means we need to work even harder to ensure that we have enough people with the education and training needed to fill all these great jobs. Our historic investments in education – and specifically in fab labs – are part of building a strong workforce.  

For more information on fab labs in Wisconsin, follow #WIFabLab on Facebook and Twitter or visitwww.inwisconsin.com/fablabs.

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