Governor Scott Walker, DWD Secretary Newson Announce $2.2 Million in Youth Apprenticeship Grant Awards
Governor Scott Walker and Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Reggie Newson announce today $2.2 Million in Youth Apprenticeship (YA) grant awards to 32 regional consortiums to sustain and expand local, in-demand training opportunities for approximately 2,500 high school students across Wisconsin for the 2015-16 school year.“As I travel throughout the State of Wisconsin, I consistently hear from employers, especially those in high-demand fields such as manufacturing, that they have jobs, but don’t have enough skilled workers to fill their open positions,” Governor Walker said. “Investing in the Youth Apprenticeship program is an important step towards ensuring that Wisconsin’s workforce continues to grow and develop, and that the youth of today possess the skills necessary to obtain family-supporting jobs in a high-demand field tomorrow.”
"Wisconsin's Youth Apprenticeship program is a key talent development strategy that prepares students for postsecondary education and employment success," Secretary Newson said. “It is a nationally recognized work-based learning model that allows students to explore high-demand careers and transition from academics to the workforce while earning college credit, state skill certification, and real world work experience."
Wisconsin's YA program has been authorized by state statute since 1991 to help high school students who thrive in a hands-on learning environment gain academic and technical college-level instruction with mentored on-the-job training in an occupational area of interest over one or two years. Students who complete the program receive a YA completion certificate, and may receive technical college credit and graduate with the skills needed to accept an entry-level position in their occupational area.
In the 2014-15 school year, YA grant awards supported work-based learning opportunities at nearly 1,800 businesses across 10 career clusters for more than 2,500 youth who were paid an average wage of $10.38 per hour to graduate on track and learn job skills. The top three program areas for participation were: Manufacturing with 617 enrollees; Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources with 443 enrollees; and Hospitality, Lodging and Tourism with 404 enrollees.
The graduation rate for eligible youth apprentices was 84% last year. Additionally, 76% of the two-year graduates were offered employment opportunities.
The Harvard Graduate School of Education recognized Wisconsin's YA Program as an "Exemplar of Employer Engagement" in the 2011 Pathways to Prosperity report. The report noted the high number of YA graduates who receive a post-secondary degree and are employed after high school. The report also noted that 98% of employers would recommend the program to fellow employers.
*Applicant County is the county of the organization administering the grant;
regional consortiums may serve students in additional counties.
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