Work-based learning creates opportunities
Some of the most valuable educational experiences can happen outside the classroom.
Spending time in a workplace through an internship or apprenticeship while still in high school can provide students with new skills, opportunities, and ideas for future career goals, providing an ideal complement to lessons learned in class.
These are key reasons that the creation and coordination of work-based learning opportunities is a focus of M3, the public education partnership comprised of Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee Area Technical College and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
A team of faculty and staff from all three institutions is collaborating to identify work-based learning options with a variety of employers. The goal is for students to develop professional skills that can be used toward finding a job or earning a postsecondary degree.
MPS graduate Anthony Lynch did both.
Lynch, an apprentice line mechanic at We Energies, graduated from MATC in 2021 with a degree in electric power distribution/line mechanic. Lynch first connected with We Energies when he interned on a line crew during his last two years of high school.
“During those two summers, I learned a lot of things that I thought I’d never be doing, but would love to be doing. It helped me grow as a person, and overall, was just a memorable experience,” said Lynch, a 2020 graduate of Hamilton High School.
Lynch encourages MPS students to take advantage of the resources available. “If there are people trying to show you the way or help you, accept their guidance. They are there to help you achieve your goals,” he said.
One of the most visible collaborations among the M3 partners is the annual MPS Student Job Fair, which has attracted more than 3,000 students since the event began in 2018. Held virtually in 2021 because of the pandemic, plans in 2022 call for juniors to attend in person this year at UWM, while seniors are being offered a virtual student job fair on the Booth Central platform.
Work-based learning programs and initiatives are in place at each of the three M3 institutions, through which partners can share ideas and best practices.
- MPS offers resources and events for students such as industry panel discussions, mock interviews, and workplace-readiness sessions.
- MATC students are required to take a career-readiness course; the college also hosts the cooperative work-education program JobUp Milwaukee that combines traditional classroom learning with paid on-the-job work experience.
- At UWM, more than 83% of graduates have some form of work-based learning or work experience while attending the university. UWM is also developing on-campus jobs and internships for MPS graduates attending the university.