More teens are getting wired into possible future careers before leaving high school.
The Department of Workforce Development says interest in youth apprenticeships is skyrocketing.
Caden Wistrom is a senior at D.C. Everest Senior High. He's part of the youth apprenticeship program there, and says he wishes he had known about the program sooner.
Outside of the classroom, Wistrom has spent the past year on job sites, working on achieving his goal of becoming an electrician.
"It helps out quite a bit and you get more hours in," Wistrom said. "And the pay gets better after high school."
"As few as three years ago, we might have had twelve to fifteen students participating," said Aaron Hoffman, Career and Technical Education Coordinator at D.C. Everest. "And now for the last three years consistently we've had fifty five to sixty students participating."
The same is true across town at Wausau West High School, where coordinator Taryn Fuller says she expects their participation to double in the next few years.
"I think students really want to work," Fuller said. "I think they want to see what potential looks like, what their potential future looks like, and explore different opportunities."
Organizers say there's a benefit for local employers too, especially as the demand for workers grows. Many employers often hire their youth apprentices after graduation.
"As a college we're hearing from employers 'we need employees' and the youth apprenticeship program is really a direct pipeline into filling that need," said Shawn Sullivan, director of Student Development at Northcentral Technical College.
