Under the DWD youth apprenticeship to registered apprenticeship bridge program, Sarah smoothly transitioned into her rank of registered apprentice at Harley-Davidson after completing her youth apprenticeship program and graduating from high school in May 2020. This put Sarah one step closer to fulfilling her professional goal to become an industrial electrician. In the coming years, Sarah will complete 8,320 hours of training (approximately four years) that will include both on-the-job training and classroom-related instruction. Best of all, she will be paid for all the hours she is training and studying, and after she completes her registered apprenticeship program, she will have a journey-level industrial electrician card.
Every February, DWD celebrates students like Sarah during Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month. CTE Month raises awareness about the important role career and technical education has in preparing students for success. These programs provide Wisconsin kids with the academic, technical and employability skills they need to thrive in the workforce.
In his biennial budget, Gov. Tony Evers is providing an additional $250,000 in each year to expand youth apprenticeship opportunities, exposing more high school students, like Sarah, to employment in the trades and helping them transition from the classroom to the workforce.
As CTE Month winds down, DWD is ramping up, developing even more youth apprenticeship pathways in the arts, audio/visual technology, communications, agriculture, food and natural resources areas. The agency also continuously reviews and refines its five fundamental pathways for construction — carpentry, electrical, masonry/concrete, mechanical/HVAC, and plumbing/sprinkler fitting.
