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.
‘Connecting Counselors’ Brings Together K-12 & Higher Education Counselors
March 1, 2022The Alliance was delighted to host Kettle Moraine High School, Catholic Memorial High School and Wisconsin Lutheran High School for Connecting Counselors last week. This program brings together K-12 school counselors and higher education individuals to connect about the many programs/areas of study available to students after high school. Specific areas highlighted at the most […]
Alliance Welcomes Talent Development Coordinator
December 17, 2021Please join the Alliance in welcoming Courtney Long as Talent Development Coordinator! In her role, Courtney will support the Alliance’s business education programming to further address the workforce challenges facing our region. Courtney comes to the Alliance with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She most recently served […]
Alliance Presents at Eau Claire Chamber’s Workforce Solutions Summit
December 12, 2021Last week, Vice President of Talent Development Robyn Ludtke presented at the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce’s annual Workforce Solutions Summit. The event showcased best practices from around the state and Robyn had the opportunity to share the value of a workforce development strategy and building a talent pipeline. The Alliance is incredibly proud of […]
Alliance Announces Schools2Skills™ Scholarship Recipients
November 17, 2021The Waukesha County Business Alliance is proud to announce that four students at Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) will be the recipients of the Alliance’s Schools2Skills™ Scholarship for the 2021-2022 school year. The Schools2Skills™ Scholarship is given through the WCTC Foundation with its primary purpose to promote education related to manufacturing jobs. The scholarship specifically recognizes WCTC […]
Alliance Continues to Strengthen Statewide Talent Partnerships
November 2, 2021The Alliance continues to collaborate with counties across the state to strengthen talent partnerships. Most recently, Vice President of Talent Development Robyn Ludtke represented the Milwaukee 7 region at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s Career Readiness event. In addition, Robyn presented at the Wisconsin Economic Development Association’s (WEDA) annual Workforce and Economic Development Conference […]
Ramping Up Business Education Partnerships
October 19, 2021Now that students are almost two months into the 2021-2022 school year, the Alliance is excited to provide an update on our business education programming which has ramped up for the school year. Below represents just a portion of the programs we’ve hosted over the last several weeks. Careers Uncovered: VJS Construction Services opened its […]
Workforce Readiness Dashboards
The Alliance, the Center for Growth and Waukesha County schools are focused on making sure our high school graduates are prepared for all the opportunities that exist for them after high school, whether that involves going straight to a higher education institution or joining the workforce right away.
Education Steering Council
Donna Bembenek
Chair
Catholic Memorial High School
Dee Jensen
Co-Chair
Heritage Printing
Dr. Ronald Russ
School District of Merton Community – Arrowhead Feeder District
John Barker
Dielectric Manufacturing
Jim Bayer
KHS USA, Inc.
Nicole Berlowski
ProHealth Waukesha Memorial Hospital
Simon Bronner
UWM at Waukesha
Amanda Busche
VJS Construction Services
Laura Catherman
Waukesha County
Paul Decker
Waukesha County Board of Supervisors
Andy Dresang
Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin
Bob Glowacki
EconomicsWisconsin
Alexa Goulet
Tailored Label Products, Inc.
Mark Hansen
School District of Elmbrook
Mollie Haubenschild
School District of Waukesha
Michaelene Healy
Superior Crane Corp
Brian Hillstrom
Johnson Financial Group
Heidi Hurda
Kohl’s Department Store
Ann Hyra
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
Steve Janke
Brelie Gear
Rick Kalscheuer
R&R Insurance Services, Inc.
Susan Koehn
Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
Cynthia Krueger
Wisconsin Lutheran High School
Jim McLaughlin
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Jane Menheer
Dedicated Computing
Ashley Miller
SPX Transformer Solutions, Inc.
Joseph Miotke
DeWitt Ross & Stevens SC
Vicki Pinnow
Waukesha Metal Products
Emilie Poehlmann
OwnersEdge Inc
Mary Poehls
Waukesha County Technical College
Julio Rivera
Carroll Univserity
Carla Rutley
Ottawa University
Michael R. Sekula
Inpro Corporation