Hamilton Snags a Slice of $1.6 Million Grant

The is set to snag a slice of a $1.6 million grant aimed at preparing students for skilled trades, part of Gov. Scott Walkers vision for Wisconsin.

The Youth Apprenticeship grants, funded by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, are benefiting 11 Waukesha County Schools. Almost $100,000 will be distributed between the schools to fund partnerships in school-to-work training during the 2012-13 school year.

“Youth Apprenticeship is an excellent example of the partnerships Governor Walker says we need to prepare a new generation of skilled workers and make Wisconsin the workforce of choice,” Secretary Reggie Newson said. “Youth Apprenticeship offers high school students an opportunity to explore careers, learn sills, gain worker experience and earn a pay check. It opens doors to a wide range of careers in areas such as manufacturing, health services, biotechnology, engineering, natural resources and agriculture.”

Hamilton specifically requested $2,900 of the funding to coordinate its printing program, as well as to pay for some contracted Youth Apprenticeship instruction. Associate Principal Pete Ferge says the funding helped subsidize costs during the 2011-12 school year outside of the annual budget.

“In the 2011-2012 school year, Hamilton used $1881.94 of YA grant money,” Ferge wrote in an email. “The money was used for Youth Apprenticeship Coordination (Printing), and for sub pay during our Manufacturing Career Expo event at Davian’s, which took some of our Applied Engineering and Technology teachers out of the building.”

Last year, nearly 1,700 high school juniors and seniors were enrolled in the Youth Apprenticeship program, and participating employers totaled more than 1,200. The school-to-work partnership included 232 schools.