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Wauwatosa East High School to Host Annual Industry Signing Day

Wauwatosa School District will host its annual Industry Signing Day at Wauwatosa East High School on May 31 at 3:30 p.m. The event celebrates the 19 juniors and seniors who have participated in the LAUNCH program, a class that allows students from the Wauwatosa School District and from the Elmbrook School District to learn technical skills, obtain real-world experience, and connect academically. Those in the program are now on the path toward an industry credential, the most coveted being a Registered Apprenticeship, which prepares high school graduates for work in a trade career.

Of the 19 students, six are Juniors seeking Youth Apprenticeships  and 13 are Seniors who are on the path to a Registered Apprenticeship. 

Several students will be in attendance to accept offers from industries:

  • AGI will be in attendance to offer a Youth Apprenticeship in sheet metal to Ryan Acker.

  • Dave Jones will be offering Ethan Grassel with a Registered Apprenticeship  in sheet metal.

  • STAFF Electric will attend to offer electrician aimed Registered Apprenticeships to Alex Brushausser, Danny Conway, Justin Lewis, and Ben Schmidt, as well as Youth Apprenticeships to become electricians, to Mateo Canales and Ayden Laskowski.

  • CG Schmidt will be present to offer carpentry Registered Apprenticeships to AJ Houston, Adam Klein, Adam Putzer, and Jacob Lassa.

  • Mortenson Company will be offering a carpentry Registered Apprenticeship to Sean Cortright and a carpentry Youth Apprenticeship to Zach Wozniak.

  • Melanie Malcom will  be offered a Youth Apprenticeship from STAFF Electric in steamfitting.

  • Registered Apprenticeships in carpentry will be offered to Mateo Martinez and Issac Lazcares, however Martinez’s will be offered from Common Links and Lazcares’s will be offered from Hetzel Sanfillipo.

In addition to these students, three Wauwatosa East High School seniors who are completing their Youth Apprenticeship will be transitioning to full-time employment. Haley Powers will become Mortenson Company’s first ever Youth Apprentice, and will specialize in carpentry.  Tyler Slye will become Milestone Plumbing’s first ever Youth Apprentice, and will specialize in plumbing.   Bryan Coleman will become the state of Wisconsin’s first ever Arborist Youth Apprentice, and will work with Hoppe Tree Service. 

Both Nick Clementi and Andrew Zimmers are also being recognized. 

Payne & Dolan recruited a Senior to start a Surveying career, that being Clementi, and All Hands Boatworks hired a Youth Apprentice out of the woodworking program, that being Zimmers.

“The Wauwatosa School District is proud to foster students' skills and lay the foundation for their future success in the workforce,” stated Wauwatosa School District Superintendent Dr. Demond Means. “Advancing our students' futures by providing them with accessible hands-on experience is an amazing opportunity. It is our responsibility to know that success does not have to include a college degree and to prepare all students for life, whatever it is they choose to pursue.” 

In October of 2022, Wauwatosa East High School received recognition as a Certified Pre-Apprenticeship school. The Certified Pre-Apprenticeship designation allows students or graduates to get paid while learning skills within their industry of choice. Although the length of an apprenticeship will vary, each student will experience on-the-job training and classroom instruction.

In addition to hosting representatives from each company, the District anticipates appearances by the following individuals: 

  • Dr. Demond Means, Wauwatosa School District Superintendent

  • Mr. David Polk, director of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards

  • Ms. Amy Pechacek, Secretary-designee at Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

  • Wauwatosa School District Board Members

  • Representative Robyn Vining, Wisconsin Assembly’s District 14 Representative

  • Senator Rob Hutton, Wisconsin State Senate District 5’s Member

  • Senator Chris Kapenga, Wisconsin State Senate President

  • Ms. Sarah Rodriugez, Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor

The Biden-Harris Administration launched the Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative in September of 2022. This program was designed to create equitable, debt-free pathways to high-paying jobs. According to  the White House’s website, the Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative is committed to expanding and diversifying programs over the next years by “developing 460 new Registered Apprenticeship programs across 40 industries, hiring over 10,000 new apprentices, and holding 5,000 outreach, promotional, and training events to help other business, labor, and education leaders launch similar programs.” (House, 2022).