Valley apprenticeship program recognized

KAUKAUNA - The state superintendent of education says there's a training gap between workers and available trade jobs in the state.

Superintendent Tony Evers toured a training center for millwrights and carpenters in Kaukauna Wednesday, where some young people who are going into those fields say they’re finding financial security.

As Evan Gibbs pounds way at his carpentry apprenticeship, he says he's glad not to be nailed by student loan costs.

"I’m actually making money as I'm training,” said Gibbs. “I have cousins who went to college and stuff, and they've been out of college for 10 or 15 years and they're still paying off student loans."

In order to start, Gibbs first found an employer willing to take on an apprentice, and then began training through this center and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

"They’re learning and working and earning a living, so they have a job while they're in their apprenticeship and they have a job when they graduate,” said millwright instructor Darleen Balza.

Gibbs says his training here at the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters Training Center in Kaukauna only lasts two weeks each semester. The rest of the time, he's on the job.

"You get a lot more training when you're out in the field. You learn a lot of tricks, stuff that really isn't in the books,” says Gibbs.

State Superintendent Tony Evers says Wisconsin needs to do more to foster an interest in trades, and that could start with younger students, even middle schoolers.

"A lot of it is a message point of view. We have tended a message around the issue that if you don't go to a four-year degree school, that you're not doing what you need to do. And we need to have the message that there's all sorts of good trade jobs that are available now,” said Evers.

Evers toured the facility Wednesday, which trains millwrights and carpenters. Locally, however, the Department of Workforce Development says there are currently no open spots in those fields in the Green Bay area. Gibbs says he hopes Evers and other state officials can find a way to allocate more resources towards technical education in all trades.

"When I was in high school, we had almost no actual shop classes, so the stuff that I'm learning here is new. I didn't have prior training,” said Gibbs.

But Gibbs says he's confident the hands-on training he has right now, will help him build a successful future.

The apprentices at the Carpenters Training Center partner with various local companies and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. NWTC says there are currently 110 students enrolled in the carpentry program.