German Apprenticeship Program

Co-sponsored by Madison Area Technical College (Madison College) and the UW Center for German and European Studies (CGES)

Building on an over 40-year history of sister state collaboration between Wisconsin and Hessen, Germany, this program is designed to further advance education and job-skills training for applied manufacturing apprenticeship students from Germany. Apprentices connected to employers in the Frankfurt regional Chamber of Skilled Crafts (Handwerkskammer) will participate in classroom training on U.S. manufacturing best practices and job-site academic training within Madison-area businesses. The program includes advanced millwork carpenters and precision mechanics as well as faculty trainers working in both industries.

UW-Madison CGES has provided institutional co-sponsorship for the program and students and trainers will reside in UW Lakeshore dorms during the program. The program leverages European Studies’ history of collaboration with the American Council on Germany, which strongly promotes apprenticeship education as a tool to advance regional workforce skills and supports the mission of the UW-Madison Center for German & European Studies, a DAAD Center of Excellence.

“UW-Madison Center for German & European Studies has been a long-standing partner for Madison College international education initiatives in general, and has specifically helped to promote partnerships with German apprenticeship networks,” notes Dr. Geoff Bradshaw, Associate Vice President of Intercultural Education at Madison College. “UW support for sister state, and American Council on Germany partnerships, have helped to create the relationships and networks that led to the Madison College-Handwerkskammer partnership. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with CGES and other UW-Madison international partners to help foster global engagement and learning.”