The Milwaukee Job Corps Center will be shut down as part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s termination of its Job Corps contracts nationwide.
Job Corps offers free residential career training and education programs for young adults ages 16 through 24 who come from low-income families. Horizons Youth Services operates the Milwaukee center, which is located at 6665 N. 60th St. in Milwaukee and opened in 2011.
Milwaukee Job Corps’ education opportunities include high school diploma and GED programs, eLearning, military careers preparation and more. The center’s career training focus areas include cement masonry, manufacturing technology, material handling and distribution operations, medical office support, certified nurse assistant and welding.
Milwaukee Job Corps has awarded 1,354 high school diplomas since the center opened. The center currently serves 247 students but has the capacity to serve 300.
Horizons Youth Services received a notice on Friday that its U.S. Department of Labor contract to operate the Milwaukee Job Corps Center will be terminated, according to a WARN Notice. The 104 staff members — 97 full-time and seven part-time staff — located at the Milwaukee center will be terminated between June 6 and June 30.
The DOL is terminating its 99 Job Corps contracts nationwide to align with President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, which calls for the elimination of Job Corps. According to the DOL, Job Corps operated at a $140 million deficit during the 2024 program year.
“Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training, and community,” DOL Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a Thursday news release. “However, a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve. We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program’s possibilities.”
The Job Corps website has been replaced with a list of resources for students and graduates.
The DOL released a Job Corps analysis report in April that found Job Corps had low graduation rates, high costs to support students and post-graduation incomes averaging about $16,695 annually.
On Friday, the National Job Corps Association said many of the report’s findings were false or misleading. For example, the DOL said the average total cost per Job Corps graduate was about $155,600. The NJCA said that is false, and that Job Corps “costs less than $50,000 per enrollee.” The NJCA said Job Corps graduates earn more than $31,000 annually.
In a statement, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore said that Job Corps “has helped young people who might otherwise fall through the cracks reach their potential.”
“We need to be investing in our future generations — our future workforce,” Moore said. “But this ill-advised decision will create chaos and uncertainty for vulnerable young people and undermine Congress’s authority to fund federal programs.”
In a Tuesday letter, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin asked Chavez-DeRemer to reverse course and reinstate Job Corps contracts, including in Milwaukee.
“The sudden pause in Job Corps contracts, which serves as a functional cancellation of our investment in job training, will upend the lives of students currently participating in the program and disrupt a vital link in the workforce system in place in Milwaukee,” Baldwin said. “Canceling the contract means these students will be interrupted and potentially dislocated in the middle of attaining certifications and reaching their goals.”
On Tuesday, the National Job Corps Association filed a motion for a temporary restraining order in attempt to stop the nationwide Job Corps closures.
“For generations, Job Corps has provided life-changing education and hands-on training to young people looking for a pathway to a better future,” said Donna Hay, president and CEO of the National Job Corps Association, in a news release. “These students are often overcoming significant personal and economic challenges and Job Corps gives them the ability to gain the skills they need to build meaningful careers.”
