Youth Apprenticeship Program The Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship
program began with passage of 1993 Wisconsin Act 16 (the 1993-
1995 biennial budget) which appropriated funds to the Department
of Workforce Development (then known as the Department of
Industry, Labor and Human Relations) to support: an Office of
Workforce Excellence, Career Counseling and Information Centers
for Youth, Youth Apprenticeship Training Grants, Youth
Apprenticeship Curriculum Grants and Youth Apprenticeship
Administration and Program Approval authority within the
department. This legislation was developed in collaboration with
the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of
Workforce Development and the Wisconsin Technical College
System. The program was loosely fashioned after the European
apprenticeship concept, particularly the German model, which
required intensive and long-term employer-sponsored, industry-
focused training, the completion of competency-based technical
courses plus the additional coursework necessary for