Develop

We believe there are three tenets that make up a comprehensive workforce development strategy: developing our future workforce through partnerships with educational institutions, attracting new talent to our area and retaining and skilling up our existing workforce.

We work to develop our future workforce by connecting K-12 and post-secondary institutions with businesses in order to expose students to all the career opportunities in Waukesha County and the region.

Expose students to career opportunities in Waukesha County by hosting the Manufacturing the Future Expo, the Discover Health Care Expo, Mini Business World, Kids Building Wisconsin-Waukesha, Schools2Skills tours and more.
Expand Careers Uncovered to bring educators into businesses to tour, interact with business leadership and enhance the Academic & Career Planning process.
Launch the Workforce Readiness Dashboard for Waukesha County school districts to assess K-12 workforce skills development.
Host quarterly superintendent/president roundtables to connect educational leaders with local business leaders.
Create a program to educate parents about career pathways available for their children to pursue after high school graduation.
Promote youth apprenticeship, dual enrollment and internship opportunities with local businesses.
Pilot a program to connect K-12 guidance counselors and post-secondary institutions to discuss degrees, programs and/or certifications that exist for in-demand industries.
Strengthen and support each school district’s model to partner with their local businesses.
Develop an equipment evaluation tool to determine Waukesha County schools’ manufacturing and technical education equipment needs.
Form a health care speaker’s bureau to streamline the process for school districts to request health care professional speakers for their classrooms.
Support the Milwaukee 7’s “GROW HERE” campaign by encouraging businesses and educational institutions to participate in career-based learning experiences.

Schools2Skills™ takes students through the doors of health care facilities

November 18, 2019

In just one week, the Alliance’s Schools2Skills™ tours took students through the doors of two health care facilities in Waukesha County. Nearly 50 middle school students had the opportunity to visit either Oak Hill Terrace or Community Memorial Hospital. Schools2Skills™ tours give students an inside look at the world of health care, exposing them to […]

Schools2Skills™ celebrates 10 years of providing students with tours of local businesses

November 4, 2019

Originating as a way to connect superintendents and teachers with local manufacturers, Schools2Skills™ quickly evolved into a platform for educating students about the career opportunities in manufacturing. Schools2Skills™ gives middle and high school students tours of local manufacturers to see firsthand the innovative and advanced technology available right here in southeast Wisconsin. To date, over 3,600 students have attended Schools2Skills™ […]

800+ Students Visit 2019 M.A.D.E Expo

October 30, 2019

In support of Manufacturing Month, the Waukesha County Business Alliance was proud to host over 800 middle and high school students at the 2019 M.A.D.E. Career Expo. The interactive expo gives students the opportunity to learn about career pathways in manufacturing from area companies. As the number one contributor to Wisconsin’s economy, manufacturing produces more […]

Ramping up business education partnerships

October 9, 2019

Now that area students are one month in to the 2019-20 school year, the Alliance is officially kicking off our school year business and education programs.

Alliance advocates to expand youth apprenticeship opportunities

September 30, 2019

The Waukesha County Business Alliance supports Assembly Bill 72, which would expand Youth Apprenticeship opportunities to students and employers in the areas of education/training, public safety, human services, business administration and government administration. Adding these occupations would mean that the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development would be offering curriculum in all 16 career clusters for Youth Apprenticeship.

Alliance advocated to improve credit transfer among higher ed

September 12, 2019

The Alliance’s Education Policy Committee has long supported improving the transfer of credits among higher education institutions. On Thursday, September 12, the Alliance testified at the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities in support of two Assembly bills that advance these efforts: AB 189 and AB 371. Click here to watch the testimony from Robyn […]

Education Steering Council

Rick Kalscheuer

Chair
R&R Insurance Services, Inc.

Marikris Coryell

Vice Chair
St. Joan Antida High School

Jim Bayer

KHS USA, Inc.

Donna Bembenek

Catholic Memorial High School

Nicole Berlowski

ProHealth Care

Steve Bialek

Carroll University

Joe Bitter

River Run Computers Inc

Melissa Caldwell

Milwaukee Tool

Laura Catherman

Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Workforce Development Inc.

Mary Ellen Comp

Community Leader

Paul Decker

Waukesha County Board of Supervisors

David Dineen

Fairchild Equipment

Andy Dresang

Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin

Toni Gundersen

CJ & Associates, Inc.

Mark Hansen

School District of Elmbrook

Larry Harvey

Tailored Label Products, Inc.

Brian Hillstrom

Johnson Financial Group

Nate Hoffman

Carrus Group

Dee Jensen

Heritage Printing

Phylis King

University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee

Susan Koehn

Milwaukee 7

Ann Marie Krause-Hanson

Waukesha County Technical College

Steve Krause

The Prestwick Group, Inc.

Nick Kroll

Community Leader

Cynthia Krueger

Wisconsin Lutheran High School

Tami Marek-Loper

The Marek Group

Jim McLaughlin

United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County

Jane Menheer

Dedicated Computing

Dave Merrick

Mortenson Construction

Ashley Miller

SPX Transformer Solutions, Inc.

Joseph Miotke

DeWitt Ross & Stevens SC

Vicki Pinnow

Waukesha Metal Products

Ron Russ

School District of Merton

John Schiraj

Variety – The Children’s Charity of Wisconsin

Kevin Scott