Wisconsin’s registered apprenticeship system just delivered another record in 2025, chalking up a fourth straight year of growth as enrollments climbed past 18,500 apprentices. The surge is pushing employers across the state – from healthcare systems to transit garages – to lean harder on earn-while-you-learn talent pipelines to plug stubborn labor gaps, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
Record Numbers And New Career Tracks
A Feb. 19 press release from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development reports that the Registered Apprenticeship program counted 18,524 apprentices in 2025, working with more than 3,095 employers. It is the fourth consecutive year the program has set a participation record. DWD says it also opened new registered-apprenticeship pathways in areas such as bus and motor coach mechanics, dental assisting, paramedicine and surgical technology. State officials are pitching the expansion as part of a broader strategy to move people into family-supporting careers without requiring immediate college debt.
A Century-Old Program In High Gear
Wisconsin Public Radio reports that total participation rose from roughly 15,000 apprentices in 2022 to 16,384 in 2023, 17,089 in 2024 and then 18,524 in 2025. That climb is notable for a program that has been around for more than a century and now spans more than 200 occupations across Wisconsin. Employers and educators say the combination of paid, on-the-job training and related classroom instruction is keeping workers in fields where they might otherwise drift to entirely different industries.
Youth Apprenticeships Are Surging
According to a State of Wisconsin release, Youth Apprenticeship enrollment hit a record 11,344 high school juniors and seniors in the 2024–25 school year, a 14 percent jump from the prior year. The Department of Workforce Development also reported that more than 99 percent of public school districts with a high school now offer youth apprenticeship, and that the program partnered with a record 7,447 employers during the last school year. Officials say that high school pipeline is designed to feed students directly into registered apprenticeships or other careers after graduation.
Why Officials Say It Is Working
DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek has called the expansion a “proven solution that supports local talent” and said employers increasingly view apprenticeships as a way to recruit and retain workers, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. David Polk, who directs DWD’s Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards, credited strong industry partnerships as “essential to the ongoing success of Wisconsin apprenticeship.” Those endorsements sit alongside state grant programs and college collaborations that are aimed at boosting training capacity so employers are not left waiting for skilled hires.
Milwaukee Feels The Ripple Effect
In the Milwaukee area, local efforts are syncing up with the statewide push. The city recently rolled out a youth arborist apprenticeship that puts high school students directly into urban forestry work while they earn both pay and credit, as reported in youth arborist apprenticeship coverage. County and city agencies have also joined forces with technical colleges and private firms to build on-ramps into construction, manufacturing and public works apprenticeships. Local employers told reporters they gravitate toward apprenticeship programs because training can be customized to company needs and often leads to long-term hires rather than short-term help.
Gov. Tony Evers spotlighted the apprenticeship gains in his Feb. 17 State of the State address and laid out additional training pathways and budget proposals aimed at expanding apprenticeships in healthcare and education. The full text of his speech, available through WBAY, also links apprenticeship growth to investments in child care, broadband and housing that are intended to remove barriers to work…