Gov. Evers Visits Gateway To Announce Workforce Development Funds

KENOSHA, WI (WLIP)–Governor Tony Evers visited Kenosha Tuesday (12/14/21) as part of a three stop journey to promote his workforce development initiatives.

The governor announced nearly $60 million dollars in funding as part of a total of $100 million dollars promised for development of “long term solutions to Wisconsin’s workforce challenges.”

For Gateway Technical College that means about $5.6 million will help fund The Southeast Wisconsin Talent Optimization Project which in part addresses “ the urgent need for educated workers in high-demand fields and the large number of adults who cannot address that need due to lacking high school credentials.”

In a visit to Gateway’s Horizon Center in Kenosha, the Governor said Wisconsin needs diverse ways to address workforce challenges.

The governor says that participants will have the flexibility they need.

The City of Kenosha will also receive up to $990,000 to partner with “Gener8tor to bring an entrepreneurship skilling program to the city, specifically to work with startup founders of color and women founders in Kenosha. The program, known as gBETA, will provide coaching, mentorship, and networking needed to develop the workforce of entrepreneurs in the city to build strong, sustainable companies, and therefore, create strong, sustainable jobs.”

The UW-System also gets up to $5.7 million. UW-Parkside will be one of six campuses with a “ Prison Education Initiative (PEI) (that delivers a) workforce-ready curriculum to teach employable skills to students while incarcerated and continue supporting them post-release through program completion and career placement.”