MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) recently announced that Wisconsin’s Youth Apprenticeship program will add four new occupational pathways to its program offerings in the 2024-2025 school year: law enforcement, fire protection, project management, and barbering/cosmetology.

“I declared 2024 the Year of the Worker in Wisconsin, and we’ve been making smart, strategic investments to bolster our state’s workforce, reduce barriers to work, and support key sectors that we know have been particularly strained,” said Gov. Evers. “These four new pathways build upon our work—we’re keeping more of our homegrown talent here in our state while providing an opportunity for young people to earn-while-they-learn, helping employers to fill critical staffing needs, and ensuring our economy to continue to grow and thrive in the 21st Century.”

The new pathways, which combine on-the-job skill training with classroom learning, bring the total number of occupational pathways to 83 in 16 program areas. Youth Apprenticeship opportunities are offered locally by consortia composed of school districts, technical colleges, chambers of commerce, and other partners.

The final 2023-25 biennial budget signed by Gov. Evers included $7 million in additional funding over the biennium for the Youth Apprenticeship program. In May, DWD announced an all-time high of 9,932 youth apprentices enrolled during the 2023-24 school year, with a record 6,671 employers participating. The state is on track to break these records again, with students enrolled in Youth Apprenticeship from more than 95% of Wisconsin’s eligible public school districts and 46 participating private or charter schools.

The four new pathways will join 16 other program areas, including:

●  Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources

●  Architecture & Construction

●  Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications

●  Business, Management & Administration

●  Education & Training

●  Finance

●  Government & Public Administration

●  Health Science

●  Hospitality & Tourism

●  Human Services

●  Information Technology

●  Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security

●  Manufacturing

●  Marketing, Sales & Service

●  Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

●  Transportation, Distribution & Logistics