A THREE-YEAR WEDC WORKFORCE INNOVATION GRANT

Our Workforce Challenge

Over the past ten years, southwest Wisconsin’s population declined faster than the states’, a trend exacerbated by the pandemic. Our already pinched workforce suddenly found itself also becoming child and healthcare providers. This reality hit our second largest employment sector, manufacturing, particularly hard. On top of supply chain bottlenecks, manufacturing employees able to remain in the workforce put in overtime to make up for lost colleagues. The industry is still struggling to find employees.

Ripple Effects

Our manufacturing constraints reverberated across the rest of our economy. Many serve location-tied industries like agriculture. With manufacturers slowing their lines and reducing service, everyone else is suffering as well.

Our Solution

To help identify the path forward from this disruption, Southwest Tech conducted dozens of focus groups and employer interviews. The feedback was nearly unanimous: manufacturers resoundingly reported that due to a limited workforce and the changing needs of the 21st century, more expertise is needed in the design, operation, and maintenance of advanced manufacturing technology.

Service Area

ADVANCE SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN will serve the very rural counties of southwest Wisconsin (Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Lafayette, and Richland) on job sites via mobile training units and at our main campuses in Fennimore and Platteville, ten or more area high schools, and five outreach centers (Darlington, Dodgeville, Richland Center, Prairie du Chien, and Platteville).