Early exposure to technical careers
GPS Education Partners (GPSEd) works with businesses, like yours, and education partners to bring student awareness to numerous industries and vocations. Together, through early assessments of interests, skills, and abilities, we increase student interest in technical careers and help them identify their aptitudes earlier to create data-driven career training plans. All of these real-world interactions create relevance between education and an attainable career.
Refer a Business Partner
Work-based learning. Rethink the solution to workforce challenges.
GPS Education Partners helps businesses like yours navigate labor pool challenges by preparing the Next-Gen workforce through work-based learning solutions. GPSEd collaborates with clients to recruit—and develop—talent based on the skills needed and the culture businesses wish to establish. Hundreds of businesses have engaged with GPSEd to make work-based learning—work. Our Manufacturing Youth Apprenticeship program is an immersive experience aligned to educator and industry standards but also a cost-effective investment for a business’s talent strategy. Apprentices, just like the student apprentices in your workplace, build skills that meet evolving business needs and contribute to their employers’ bottom line.
Key elements of the GPSEd Youth Apprenticeship Program:
- Industry-developed skill standards
- Exposure to multiple aspects of the industry
- Skilled mentors assigned to train the students
- Paid on-the-job work experience
- Related classroom instruction concurrent with work-based learning
- Curriculum guidelines for all programs
- Performance evaluation of demonstrated competencies
- State-issued skill certificate
Know a business like yours that would be a great fit as a GPSEd partner? Refer them by filling out this form below:
Refer a Student
What will GPS Education Partners’ students learn?
Through on-the-job training, students are able to gain mastery in the technical skills needed to prepare them for meaningful, productive careers. Paired with lessons, projects and classroom activities, students are also taught valuable life skills such as budgeting and money management, while growing soft skills such as teamwork, creative thinking and self-awareness. These character and leadership skills prepare students for lifelong success in and out of work.
Beyond Youth Apprenticeship
GPSEd is certified by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development so students will graduate with a youth apprenticeship certificate. Students will also have the opportunity to earn a certified production technician designation from the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council.
All graduates earn a high school diploma from their home high school. Students are compensated for their work experience and their improved performance results directly in increased pay. Students can make between $9–$13 an hour.
Learn more about our program by downloading our enrollment brochure.
Become a Mentor
How does the GPSEd program work?
We partner with high schools to discover students who have a passion or need to learn in a hands-on environment. Students are evaluated thoroughly and placed with employers who have career pathways that align with their interests and aptitudes, ensuring positive outcomes for all.
What does a mentor do?
Each student will be working under the supervision of a trained mentor who is employed by one of our business partners, like yours. Academic lessons are delivered by a GPSEd Technical Instructor and a mentor at the workplace is trained to assist students in their work-based training. Mentors also support, empower and teach students critical and applicable life-long skills. This approach also gives employees, like you, the opportunity to grow as a leader. Teachers and program coordinators interact with mentors on a weekly (or more frequently, if needed) basis regarding student progress and performance.