(Wisconsin) Over $10-million-dollars is being committed to help bolster Wisconsin’s Workforce. The governor’s office along with the Department of Workforce Development say 10 regional workforce development organizations across the state will receive a share of the funds through the Worker Advancement Initiative.
The money will help more than 1,400 workers across the state find jobs, improve their skills, and increase earnings.
The Worker Advancement Initiative was first launched in 2021 as part of the governor’s Workforce Solutions Initiative and supported by the state’s allocation of federal relief funds.
Grants were awarded to 10 Workforce Development Boards across the state for the following projects:
- Bay Area Workforce Development Board — $900,000
This grant will be used to provide skills accelerator training to roughly 100 participants through a partnership with gener8tor, focusing on industries such as supply chain, logistics, and finance. Training will be delivered in a hybrid approach and will use case project development to enable participants to apply artificial intelligence solutions to industry challenges.
- Employ Milwaukee — $1,999,791
These funds will serve 400 participants by launching “BankWork$,” an eight-week retail banking career training class targeting youth and adults from low-income and communities of color through partnerships with government agencies and community-based and faith-based organizations. Training will include workplace skills for professionalism, forging customer relationships, financial services fundamentals, and preparing for employment. Additionally, Employ Milwaukee is partnering with Teens Grow Greens to help youth build local connections and have project-based learning in horticulture, cooking, and environmental justice.
- Fox Valley Workforce Development Board — $1,164,625
These funds will serve 75 participants by providing Commercial Divers License (CDL) and welding training in partnership with Moraine Park Technical College. Additionally, an onsite mobile welding lab will be offered for incarcerated women at Taycheedah Correctional Institution. Training will also include separate IT and project management courses with an introduction to artificial intelligence courses through various University of Wisconsin System campuses.
- North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board — $1,065,075
Funds will support 85 participants with short-term training opportunities in healthcare, child care, tourism-related occupations, welding, home energy audit and solar installation, CDL, and construction trades. Construction courses will be offered in conjunction with local technical colleges and trainers with a focus on engaging unemployed and underemployed workers and individuals re-entering the workforce following incarceration.
- Northwest Wisconsin Workforce Investment Board — $690,640
Funds will support 70 participants through comprehensive training in fields including CDL and heavy equipment operation in partnership with Midwest Truck Driving School. Participants will be able to earn the OSHA 40 certification training for workplace safety and regulatory compliance. Additionally, training in the building science principles industry and certifications for energy auditing or energy contractor work will be offered through Slipstream. Eligible candidates will be identified through local community-based organizations, Tribes, and businesses.
- Southeastern Wisconsin Workforce Development Board — $610,061
Funds will support 60 participants by providing Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) boot camps in two cohorts through Gateway Technical College and CDL classes through Milwaukee CDL. Individuals at the Ellsworth Correction Center will have the opportunity to participate in the CDL class.
- Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board — $685,422
Funds will serve 143 participants by supporting training in accelerated industrial maintenance (AIM), firefighting, certified nursing assistant (CNA), and welding. Training will be provided to three cohorts in the AIM summer program; one cohort in the Fire Academy; three cohorts of CNA trainees to prepare for the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program exam and state accreditation; one cohort of welding trainees in the Prairie Du Chien Correctional Institution; and one cohort of welding trainees at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College.
- Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Workforce Development Board — $1,114,480
Funds will support 115 participants by providing rapid training and upskilling that blends classroom instruction with work-based learning in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, information technology, healthcare, child care, professional/business management, and transportation logistics and warehousing.
- West Central Works — $719,327
Funds will support 150 participants by providing new worker training through Certified Pre-Apprenticeship programs in beginner and advanced welding and child care through Northwood Technical College. Training will focus on jobs that lead to economic self-sufficiency with sustainable wages.
- Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin — $1,343,100
Funds will support 225 participants by augmenting and advancing current work-based learning strategies, such as bringing young adults to careers using subsidized employment; subsidizing salaries for individuals completing certified pre-apprenticeship training or registered apprenticeships; providing programs, including certified pre-apprenticeships, to re-entry populations engaged in work release programs; collaborating with regional business partners to address in-demand employment needs through technical skills training; and integrating a compensated digital literacy learning. Targeted industries include construction, health and social assistance, advanced manufacturing, and information technology.
