Registered apprenticeships are career training programs in which participants “earn while they learn” with tuition costs covered by employers or joint labor-management organizations, who gain access to domestic supply pools of skilled workers. Apprenticeship training is vital to the success of the construction industry, which accounts for 70 percent of apprenticeships in Wisconsin. While across Wisconsin, the number of active apprentices grew substantially over the past decade, this growth lagged neighboring states that maintained public policies that have been linked with strong apprenticeship systems.
