Wolf River School to Work

We are a State Certified Youth Apprenticeship Program.

The WISCONSIN YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP program was authorized in 1991 by the Wisconsin Legislature, as part of Governor Doyle’s GROW initiative. It provides high school juniors and seniors with the opportunity to explore their chosen career while still in high school. Students receive occupational related instruction and on-the-job training as part of their regular high school schedule and they leave high school with a state skill certificate and career-related work experience.

The program prepares students for all options after high school, whether it’s directly into the workforce, a technical college, or a university.

• Auto Collision
• Automotive Technology
• Drafting/Design Principles of Engineering
• Finance Services
• Health Services
• Information Technology
• Manufacturing / Machining
• Graphics Design / Printing
• Production Agriculture/Animal Science

• Bonduel High School
• Clintonville High School
• Gresham High School
• Marion High School
• Shawano High School
• Shiocton High School

You Can:

• Improve the skill level of potential workers while only having to pay the apprentice at least minimum wage.
• Reduce employee turnover and retraining costs by hiring youth apprentice graduates (Over 85% of the youth apprenticeship graduates are employed after leaving high school - many continue to work for their original employers while attending college.)
• Increase career options for young people within your community.
• Improve competitive positioning in the world marketplace by developing a high skilled and educated workforce.

Employers play an active role in developing the skills of their future workforce by hiring Youth Apprentices and training them to industry skill standards.

Students who graduate from the Youth Apprenticeship program are more likely to come back to their "hometown" to look for employment after graduating from college versus moving away to find employment, which creates a strong workforce within our communities.

Becoming involved with your community by investing in our youth - our future -is priceless.

. A one or two-school-year commitment, requiring 450(one-year) or 900(two-year) hours of paid employment at minimum wage or higher. This equates to approximately 10-12 hours per week, and students are released from school approximately 3 hours per day to be at the work site. They can work from 7:00 - 10:00 a.m., 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. (these times are approximate and flexible), after school and/or on weekends.

. Two (one-year) or four (two-year) semesters of related coursework (paid for by the Youth Apprenticeship program).

. The employer agrees to provide specified learning opportunities (called competencies) according to the state-drafted agreement. These competencies are listed in the contract that would be signed by the employer, student, parents, and school district representative.

. Quarterly grading evaluations. This is where the employer/mentor grades the student on their overall work ethic. o The purpose of the quarterly evaluations is to make sure the students are progressing sufficiently and that the competencies are being met.

If you are interested in being one of the many businesses/organizations within your community to participate in the Youth Apprenticeship Program by hiring a student from your community’s high school please contact Program Director, Laura E. Warning for more information. You can also find more information at Wisconsin's Youth Apprenticeship website, and also our online documents.