Apprenticeship Week held in Wisconsin Nov. 11-17

Gov. Tony Evers has proclaimed Nov. 11-17, as Apprenticeship Week in Wisconsin. Apprenticeship Week corresponds with National Apprenticeship Week, where all states advocate for, and highlight, the benefits to businesses and workers, that this proven talent development program brings state economies and workforces.

Beginning in 1911, Wisconsin became the first state in the nation, to develop and implement an apprenticeship program. The Department of Workforce Development’s (DWD) Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards is coordinating events and other activities throughout the week, to celebrate apprenticeship and its impact on our economy.

“Wisconsin’s apprenticeship program connects workers to a combination of high-value on-the-job and classroom training, which provides apprentices with good-paying careers, the potential to achieve journey worker status, increased wages, and overall upward economic mobility,” said DWD secretary-designee Caleb Frostman. “By working together, DWD, local employers, and labor and business organizations offering apprenticeship training, are putting thousands of individuals on the path to financial success, by providing participants with transferable skills that will benefit them for their entire careers.”

Apprenticeship provides a post-secondary educational credential like a college or university, but apprentices learn only a portion of their skills in a traditional classroom. They receive most of their training on the job, while working for an employer who pays a good wage.

The employment is the primary requirement for an apprenticeship – a job must exist for the apprentice to be trained. The classroom instruction is usually provided through the Wisconsin Technical College System.