New vocational training program aims to accelerate lead pipe rehabilitation in Milwaukee
When it comes to creating jobs and resources, Milwaukee has a direct connection to the Biden administration after being named a “workforce hub.”
Milwaukee is one of 12 cities with this designation, which allows the city to work with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation to accelerate the lead pipe removal schedule.
“At least here in Milwaukee, this project will take more than a decade to complete,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
The original plan called for 60 years for the lead pipe replacement. The Biden administration is providing $83 million to rehabilitate Milwaukee’s lead pipes.
“These lines aren’t going to come out of the ground on their own, it takes people to actually do the work,” Johnson said. “In order to have the people to get these lines out of the ground, they need to have a professional opportunity … where they know they have the opportunity to do it.”
On Wednesday, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su met with Johnson and Oak Creek Mayor Daniel Bukiewicz, who also chairs the Milwaukee Building Trades Council, to discuss the importance of improving training opportunities for the construction industry.
“We are fully committed to job creation. We want to make sure they are good jobs, and the mayor is leading by example,” Su said, adding that the appointment is intended to help job seekers in the Milwaukee area find a job and training.
“We need to ensure that the organizations that serve these communities are also at the table as we build a strong infrastructure that connects people to jobs to meet employer needs and create real opportunities.”
Amy Pechacek of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and officials from the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership/BIG STEP also attended a closed-door meeting with Su.
In recent years, WRTP/BIG STEP has attracted the attention of the Biden administration for its efforts to train and place workers in Milwaukee.
In January, the Department of Labor announced that it would provide the organization with $1.5 million to modernize and upgrade the facility.
After graduating from WRTP/BIG STEP, Carshella Porter is now doing an apprenticeship in employment law.
“Without it, it would have been very difficult for me to get into the construction industry because I had no construction experience,” Porter said. “This program helped me pass the required exam to get into the construction industry.”
Plumber Dwayne Sampson Jr. said he was “taking a different path” when WRTP/BIG STEP visited his high school, the Milwaukee Academy of Science, twice.
“This program has shown me things I’ve never seen before,” Sampson said. “This program is life-changing. I hope it gives more young men like me the opportunity to change their family’s lives.”
