Lakeside Manufacturing Inc. in West Milwaukee has teamed up with Second Chance Partners for Education to provide an alternative education center at its plant.
Second Chance aims to help bridge the skills gap in manufacturing by helping disengaged students complete high school while learning about manufacturing careers. Manufacturers are linked with potential future employees.
Lakeside’s manufacturing center, which is expected to open in September, will offer manufacturing classes for two hours each morning. Students will then learn on the shop floor for six hours “earning a wage while acquiring valuable work skills from professional experts.”
Class instructors will regularly assess Lakeside’s two students to make sure they are on track with the program.
Rexnord, Badger Alloys, International Thermal Systems and Fusion Babbitting are also participating in the Second Chance program, which has a 98 percent attendance rate and graduates 90 percent of its students.
“Our partnership with Second Chance creates a pathway for committed students to develop a strong work ethic, expose them to the diversity of manufacturing jobs and provide an alternative pathway from high school into postsecondary education,” said President Joe Carlson. “This program can create a life changing direction for students that would otherwise not succeed in our current education system.”
