Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Department of Workforce Development officials announced the availability of grants to sustain or expand youth apprenticeship programs in the 2017-18 school year.
Funding is available for local consortiums implanting the youth apprenticeship program. Grant requests are limited to $900 per student served and the consortium must serve at least 25 students to be eligible. The total amount of money is dependent on the availability of state funds.
Wisconsin gave out $3.2 million youth apprenticeship grants last year. The funding helped support training and work opportunities for more than 3,000 juniors and seniors with the top program areas including manufacturing, 665 enrollees, and health services with 564 enrollees.
Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal calls for maintaining the level of funding for youth apprenticeships with the possibility of a $5 million increase in fiscal 2018 for technical colleges to support collaborations with school districts and businesses.
“The (youth apprenticeship) program effectively helps employers address the skills gap and provides students with a career pathway that allows them to transition from academics to the workforce with state skill certifications, college credits and real world work experience,” Kleefisch said during a visit to RAM Tool Inc. in Grafton.
Grant applications are due by April 10. Additional details are available here.
