Wigwam Mills, Inc. has partnered with a local technical college to offer apprenticeships that will hopefully attract more high school graduates into manufacturing careers.
The of Sheboygan, WI company, which makes socks, gloves and hats, is participating in the Sheboygan Area Youth Apprenticeship program, which offers students in high school the opportunity to explore future careers while receiving school credit and pay for the work they are performing. The program is limited to high school juniors and seniors and covers a wide variety of job fields such as, Health, Finance, Hospitality, Culinary, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and Manufacturing.
In addition to requiring the students to work a minimum of 450 hours on the job, they are required to take one job related class each semester at either their high school, if available, or at Lakeshore Technical College. The student will receive college credit for any classes taken at the college and the cost of tuition and books is covered by a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce and Development. Last year, the Sheboygan Area Youth Apprenticeship program placed approximately 65 students from 11 area high schools into various career opportunities with more than 30 area companies.
For the 2014-2015 school year, Wigwam has hired one student to participate in the Youth Apprenticeship program as a Knitting Mechanic. This student will work mainly first shift during the summer and then switch to partial afternoon hours during the school year.
“Our hope is that this student, as well as others involved in the Sheboygan Area Youth Apprenticeship program, will develop a renewed interest in manufacturing and look to Wigwam as a career choice after graduation,” said Wigwam Mill President Jerry Vogel.
