National Apprenticeship Week
Wednesday, April 29th, 2026 -- 10:01 AM
Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), kicked off “National Apprenticeship Week” in Wisconsin by celebrating that, for the fifth year in a row, Wisconsin’s Youth Apprenticeship program for high school students saw record-high enrollment.
During the 2025-26 school year, a record 12,141 students enrolled in the program, a seven percent increase from the prior year. Youth Apprenticeship is a one-year or two-year earn-while-you-learn program for high school juniors and seniors pairing work and related classroom instruction in a chosen occupation.
This program implements a dual training system that combines skills obtained on the job site with technical knowledge in the classroom. Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to offer a Youth Apprenticeship program in 1991, and more than 99 percent of Wisconsin’s public school districts that have a high school offered Youth Apprenticeship for the 2025-26 school year.
To support the continued success of this program, the 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed by Gov. Evers provided over $6 million for the youth apprenticeship. In addition to record-high enrollment, the Youth Apprenticeship program partnered with a record 8,105 employers.
Youth Apprenticeship career pathways with the highest participation during the school year were:
- Health Science: 2,189
- Marketing: 1,571
- Manufacturing: 1,568
- Architecture and Construction: 1,547
- Hospitality & Tourism: 1,402
The number of Youth Apprenticeship program participants who leverage their skills and choose to become Registered Apprentices to begin their career has grown in recent years, from 8.7 percent of Youth Apprenticeship participants in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2021 to 15 percent in SFY 2026.
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