At a time when retiring baby boomers are stressing the labor needs of key sectors such as manufacturing and construction, the latest figures on Wisconsin’s efforts to prepare young people for occupations in these industries bodes well for the state economy.
According to the recent study, “Mastering Apprenticeships: Wisconsin’s Efforts to Prepare Skilled Workers,” by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, participation in Wisconsin’s registered and youth apprenticeship programs soared to record levels in 2024, and its per capita concentration of registered apprentices compares favorably to most other states.
As of January, Wisconsin ranked 11th nationally with 2.4 apprentices per 1,000 residents, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
With that ratio, Wisconsin outpaced both the 50-state median of 1.7 and the neighboring states of Illinois (1.7), Minnesota (2) and Michigan (2.1). Among contiguous states, Wisconsin lagged only Iowa, which has 3 active apprentices per 1,000 residents.
“Going into this report, we had seen that we were at a record number in Wisconsin because the governor’s office had reported that, and we’ve seen that trending upward — and that’s a positive,” said Joe Peterangelo, research director for the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
“What we didn’t know was how we compared with other states, and so one thing that stood out to me was looking at national data that compared our ratio of active apprentices per capita with other states. That showed that Wisconsin was just outside of the top 10 states.”
In 2024, about two-thirds of Wisconsin’s 17,509 apprentices were pursuing careers in construction, with the top occupations being construction electricians, plumbers and operating engineers.
Registered apprenticeship programs also have been introduced for several health care occupations, including medical assistants and registered nurses.
Wisconsin apprentices also have become more racially diverse, but again there is room for improvement.
The share of apprentices who are Hispanic doubled in the last decade, to 8.1% in 2024. This is still less than the approximately 10.2% of the state’s population who identified as Hispanic and were the prime ages for apprenticeships (ages of 20 to 34) according to 2023 numbers, the study said.
Less progress has been made to broaden apprenticeship representation of other underrepresented groups, such as female workers. Women are over half the state’s population but less than 8% of the state’s apprentices in 2024.
Another area for improvement is the geographic distribution of apprentices. Wisconsin’s strongest concentrations of apprentices are in the southern and eastern regions.
Peterangelo said this geographic disparity will be the subject of a second Wisconsin Policy Forum study that examines opportunities to strengthen the overall apprenticeship system.
“Part of that is looking at actual job openings and comparing the number of apprentices that we have relative to the job openings in specific occupations, and looking at that by region of the state,” Peterangelo said.
“That piece will build on this first one and help us understand where we should focus on strengthening the apprenticeship pipeline,” he said.
Proven method
Even with room for improvement, the report’s findings are welcome at a time when many industries report a shortage of qualified workers.
“We have low unemployment and we have baby boomers continuing to retire, which is opening up jobs for younger generations,” Peterangelo said. “Employers say they’re struggling in some cases to fill all of those openings in industries like manufacturing, construction, health care and others.
“There’s strong demand (for apprenticeships) and this is a proven way for people to get into certain occupations.”
