Participation in Wisconsin apprenticeships is at a record high, according to a new report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
In 2024, 17,509 people participated in the state Department of Workforce Development’s Registered Apprenticeship Program, up from 9,872 people in 2013. The program offers apprenticeships in about 200 occupations.
Participation was also up for the state’s youth apprenticeship program, designed to give high schoolers one or two years’ coursework and paid work experience, similar to the adult program. In the 2025 fiscal year, the number of high schoolers involved was 11,357, more than double the count of 5,104 in 2019.
“We are seeing increasing participation,” said Joe Peterangelo, research director at the Wisconsin Policy Forum. “But given the demand, there are still opportunities to expand what we have across the state and across different industries.”
The rise in apprentices is good news for industries reporting a shortage of workers, such as construction, manufacturing and health care, the report noted.
But youth enrolled in apprenticeship programs for other fields, such as agriculture, could benefit from more adult apprenticeship options, Peterangelo said.
“We found there are actually not a lot of connections being made from youth apprenticeships to registered apprenticeships that would then provide pathways for those youth into careers,” Peterangelo said. “So there may be opportunities to improve, to strengthen those connections.”
The report authors analyzed state and federal labor data and interviewed more than a dozen “workforce development leaders” to understand apprenticeship participation trends.