Wisconsin Advances Policy to Ease Path for High School Students to Train as Electricians

State officials in Wisconsin are taking a significant step to ease the path for high school students to become electricians by waiving a continuing-education requirement for students enrolled in an electrician youth apprenticeship program. This move is a result of the state Department of Safety and Professional Services pursuing an administrative rule change. The policy change was initially proposed in a bill, Senate Bill 764, which failed to pass in the last legislative session. However, with the help of the bill's author, Sen. Dan Feyen, and the department, they have worked together to implement the policy administratively.

Key Takeaways:

• The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services is pursuing an administrative rule change to waive a continuing-education requirement for students enrolled in an electrician youth apprenticeship program.
• The proposal was initially introduced as Senate Bill 764, which failed to pass in the last legislative session, but was carried out administratively with the help of Sen. Dan Feyen and the department.
• The current requirement of 24 hours of continuing-education credits can be a significant obstacle for high school juniors taking part in the program to continue doing so in their senior year.
• No other youth apprentice program in the state has a similar 24-hour requirement.
• Industry groups, such as the National Electrical Contractors Association's Wisconsin chapter, and state officials have expressed support for the proposal.
• The department's purpose behind the rule change is to relax the continuing education requirements for youth electrical apprentices, acknowledging that they are difficult to complete due to scheduling and responsibility issues.

Statistics:

• 24 hours: The current continuing-education requirement for electrician youth apprentices.
• 1 year: The typical duration of the program, where students are required to complete the 24-hour continuing education requirement in the second year.
• 1 (hail Mary): The tweak made by Sen. Feyen in working with DSPS after the previous legislative session.
• 2020: The year when the initial bill (Senate Bill 764) failed to pass in the legislative session, leading to the administrative rule-making process.

Sources:

• Jolly, M. (2020) "State officials move to ease path for high school students to become electricians." Daily Reporter, nbeck@dailyreporter.com.
• Jolly, M. (2020) "Moving administrative rule-making forward."
• Friedman, R. (2020) "Teachers cheer budget deal that supports education reform."