Milwaukee made an aggressive and successful pitch to bring a Job Corps Center to our community. Mayor Barrett and many other elected officials made the case that Milwaukee needs this resource to help prepare its younger workforce to meet the needs of area employers for skilled workers.

Job Corps is a national vocational job training program administered by the U.S. Dept. of Labor. The program offers a link for low-income youth from 16 to 24 years old with education, job training and placement.
Students learn a variety of hands-on instruction in more than 100 occupations, in a range of industries based on local labor needs among area employers. Job training is offered in information technology (IT), construction, health care, emergency responders, security and more.

The average applicant to Job Corps: does not have a high school diploma or GED and needs additional reading, math skills and job skills training to meet requirements of any entry level jobs.

74% of Job Corps students are high school drop-outs.
90% of Job Corps graduates go on to jobs, apprenticeships and higher education.

After a thorough site selection process and exploration of sites in the Milwaukee area, the U.S. Dept. of Labor chose a 23-acre site at 60th & Green Tree Road.

The U.S. Dept. of Labor will build a $28 million brand new facility featuring vocational training shops, academic classrooms, dormitories, a cafeteria, and recreation facilities, much like a closed-campus at a junior college.

The Milwaukee Job Corps Center will hire 80-90 people to run the site and all equipment, materials and supplies will be purchased from local vendors.

This proposal requires approval from the Redevelopment Authority and the Common Council.

Construction would begin this year and completed by Spring 2010.

Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Contract No.: K-4279-3-00-80-30
MPR Reference No.: 8140-530
National Job Corps Study: The Benefits and Costs of Job Corps
June 2001