Youth Apprenticeship Opportunities Grow in Door County
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Supply and demand helped Youth Apprenticeship participation expand from 14 Door County students to 106 in five years.
The supply of on-the-job training opportunities expanded from 15 employers during 2019-20 to 78 this school year – and Northern Door County schools have increased participation.
Students in YA spend part of their school day earning credit and wages while gaining industry experience under the guidance of a local business mentor.
“Some of our YA partners end up paying for training toward licenses or degrees through schools,” said Lauren Baumann, Northeast Wisconsin YA coach.
Gibraltar Secondary School Principal Jim DeBroux has worked to tell more district students about the option. A few Gibraltar students started work in office settings, such as Bank of Luxemburg and a local dentist’s office, DeBroux said. One has gained marketing skills at Horseshoe Bay and another is training at Northern Door Children’s Center.
Gibraltar senior Lauren McNally enjoys math in school and has commuted for two years to school, her home in Baileys Harbor and Hatco in Sturgeon Bay.
“I plan on staying at Hatco after graduation, but obtaining my degree in mechanical design engineering at the same time,” said McNally, who now has professional computer-aided design experience. She also participates in basketball and finished second in the conference in trapshooting. “I would say it is a tough juggle but with the right maturity, it’s very manageable.”
A two-year apprenticeship at Yacht Works in Sister Bay solidified Gibraltar senior Cooper Gaddes’ goal of becoming a diesel mechanic, for which he will study at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College next fall.
“I am learning many things about fixing boats, from little fishing boats to large yachts – things from oil changes and maintenance to removing and repairing engines,” Gaddes said. “Youth apprenticeship lets me do something I’m interested in while getting paid.”
Sturgeon Bay High School had a half dozen students involved in YA three years ago when Keith Nerby started as principal. Last year, the district had 21 juniors or seniors in the program. That grew to 37 this year. Many spend part of the day at Sturgeon Bay industrial facilities, businesses or Door County Medical Center.
“We have a couple of kids at Therma-Tron-X who might go right into that or go for a two-year degree,” Nerby said.
In addition to promoting YA experiences, Nerby serves as the Door County schools’ representative working to establish school-business partnerships, along with the Door County Economic Development Corporation.
Nerby sees value in YA.
“The focus is to get kids college- and career-ready,” Nerby said. “It’s a lot of making sure kids are exposed to a lot of different opportunities so they can know what they do or don’t want to do.”
Southern Door High School has 43 students in apprenticeships with 36 employers this year, principal Steve Bousley said. Southern Door got involved one year earlier than other Door County schools – sending 14 students to the YA program through the Kewaunee-County-based Ahnapeee Regional YA in 2019-20.
“The intent is to put them into experiences to give them a look at what that career would be like,” Bousley said, noting that so far in the class of 2024, 29% of Southern Door students plan to attend community college or technical school, 23% plan to enter the workforce and 47% plan to head to four-year colleges.