The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today announced the award of more than $473,000 in Technical Education Equipment Grants to 14 school districts.
Funded through the Wisconsin Fast Forward Program, the grants will help school districts expand their advanced manufacturing education programs and connect more than 2,200 students to high-wage, high-demand, and high-skill careers.
“By connecting students to cutting-edge, industry-leading equipment, schools are preparing our future workforce for the needs of employers today,” said DWD Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek. “The value of technical education is evident through Wisconsin’s growing manufacturing industry and thriving economy.”
High school students will train in advanced manufacturing fields to prepare for stable careers while they obtain dual enrollment credits, industry-endorsed certificates, and technical endorsements on high school diplomas. Advanced manufacturing refers to a variety of manufacturing activities that depend on the use and coordination of information, automation, computation, software, sensing, and networking, and/or use of cutting-edge materials and emerging production capabilities enabled by the physical and biological sciences (e.g., nanotechnology, chemistry, and biology). This involves developing new ways of manufacturing existing products, and manufacturing new products that emerge from advancing technologies.
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