Youth Apprenticeship is a state-wide program that combines in-class learning with 450 hours of paid work experience to help students prepare to enter the workforce after high school. High school juniors and seniors work one-on-one with industry professionals to gain resume-building real-world experience in a chosen career path before graduating high school.
Student Benefits & Next Steps
- Form hands-on connections between schoolwork and your chosen career path
- Receive mentorship from an industry professional
- Graduate with a state certification recognized by employers
- Follow a career pathway from high school to college and/or the workforce
Learn more about how to become a Youth Apprentice by contacting the Youth Apprenticeship Coordinator (or your school counselor) at your high school to complete the Student Registration Form and Education Training Agreement.
Employer Benefits & Next Steps
- Develop and train your future employees
- Build a loyal workforce and decrease turnover
- Establish a pipeline to recruit skilled employees
- Form lasting partnerships with area high schools
- Learn more about Youth Apprenticeship Employers
Contact Katie Graf at grafk@gtc.edu or the Youth Apprenticeship Coordinator at the local high school for more information. Be prepared to share a job posting, identify a mentor and complete the Education Training Agreement.
YA Pathways
Career clusters are a framework that allows us to examine areas of interest without having to choose a specific career right away. Youth Apprenticeship offers several career programs to pursue. The options may vary depending on the offerings for your local area.
Please visit Occupational Pathways on the DWD website's Youth Apprentice section to explore careers in the 11 clusters.
Gateway Consortium Partner Schools
- Badger High School - Contact: Jake Popanda
- Big Foot Union High School - Contact: Kara Gregory
- Burlington High School - Contact: Ben Hendricks
- Career & College Academy - Contact: Chris Trottier
- Delavan Darien High School - Contact: Mike Rick
- Delavan Darien Tech School - Contact: Mike Rick
- Elkhorn Area High School - Contact: Mike Dahle
- Options Virtual Charter School - Contact: Chris Trottier
- Union Grove High School - Contact: Travis Wetzel
- Waterford Union High School - Contact: Amy Meyer
- Westosha Central High School - Contact: Amy Koszarek
- Whitewater High School - Contact: Baron West
- Williams Bay School District - Contact: Will Welch
- Wilmot Union High School - Contact: Karl Richter