MADISON, Wis. — As many skilled trade industries face shortages of workers, apprenticeship programs are helping meet the need.
Apprentices earn a wage while they learn on the job under the training of a professional.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, 2024 saw apprenticeship contracts at an all-time high in our state, with more than 17,000 apprentices registered.
Jessica Lazo Figueroa is an apprentice sheet metal worker at Hooper Corporation in DeForest. She said she always knew she wanted to work with her hands, but didn’t know in what specific way.
“I didn’t know that there were so many different trades and I didn’t know what apprenticeships were,” Lazo Figueroa said.
She connected with the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP) | BIG STEP program, which helps train and prepare young adults to become an apprentice in fields like construction and manufacturing.
Beyond giving students an opportunity to learn what apprenticeship possibilities are out there, it helps businesses recruit, develop, and retain a more diverse and qualified workforce.
“Being an apprentice, you get to grow in different areas where you’re working,” Lazo Figueroa said.
WRTP | BIG STEP works to grow the number of skilled workers in the Milwaukee, Madison and Racine areas. The organization just got $10 million from the Ascendium Education Group to help build a statewide network of apprenticeship pathways to reach more people.
President and CEO Lindsay Blumer said it will be a game-changer in developing Wisconsin’s workforce.
“Apprentices tend to stay in the geographic locations and even with the employers in which they’re doing their apprenticeships,” Blumer said. “So, it’s a great retention tool to build community.”
Lazo Figueroa said she hopes it helps more young people get the opportunity she’s had to explore a good-paying career, build professional contacts and learn an in-demand skill.
“With the union, with my company, and the programs I did, it really taught me a lot that I didn’t know before because I was kind of growing up with them in a way,” she said.
