Gov. Scott Walker visits with WCTC students, touts technical education

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker visited Waukesha County Technical College on Wed., July 25, to tour facilities within the Terry Lutz Integrated Manufacturing Center, such as the robotics lab and fluid power lab, meet with manufacturing students and tout the importance of technical skills in meeting workforce demands.

During his stop, he spoke with students about the “limitless opportunities” in Southeastern Wisconsin, and with the unemployment rate hovering around 3 percent for the past few years, the many opportunities available for those looking to secure a job.

“The No. 1 challenge is finding (employees) with skillsets to fill these positions,” he said, noting colleges like WCTC offer flexibility in programming to meet the needs of a wide range of students.

Additionally, Walker said one of his goals in the next 10 years is to ensure everyone graduates from high school and has a career plan. He referenced the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s Academic & Career Planning (ACP) process, which began in the 2017-18 academic year, as playing a supporting role toward this target. ACP is the process that helps students create a vision for the future and develop individual goals. It begins in sixth grade and continues through middle and high school to aid students in making informed choices about their post-secondary education and training.