PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. -- — The Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program has been an eye-opener for many high school students.
It’s allowed them to see a path to high-paying, high-demand jobs without a four-year college degree.
“There’s so many opportunities for young kids to make a lot of money and be doing stuff that they actually like to do,” said Dalton Clark, a senior at LakeView Technology Academy.
Clark is one of roughly 140 Kenosha Unified School District high school juniors and seniors participating in the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship. The program is partially funded through the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
The apprenticeships connect students with employers looking to fill high-skilled positions that largely go unfilled in industries such as transportation, building trades, information systems, and manufacturing.
Clark is pointed toward a manufacturing career in Computer Numeral Control. He is an apprentice at a Kenosha milling shop and plans on pursuing a two-year degree from Gateway Technical College.
“I’ve learned a lot of the process from parts that go from cut to then put together to be shipped off to customers,” Clark said. “Honestly, I would have never learned any of that if it weren’t for Youth Apprenticeship.”
LakeView Academy senior Cole Ichen is serving a youth apprenticeship at a local CNC company.
“I’m very glad I did because I’ve learned a lot from it,” Ichen said. “I’ve gotten hands-on skills. Whether it’s setting up a machine, tooling, programming or making good parts. It definitely helped push me.”
Aaron Williams is the Coordinator of Career and Technical Education for Kenosha Unified School District.
Williams said many students are realizing a four-year college degree is no longer the only path to success.
“There’s value in that four-year degree, I have one myself,” Williams said. “But there are other options kids can do to be just as successful.”
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