2024 Wrap Up: Gov. Evers Highlights Administration’s Accomplishments During “Year of the Worker”

• Created the Governor’s Task Force on the Healthcare Workforce to find solutions to support the state’s healthcare workforce;
• Launched the state’s first-ever Teacher Apprenticeship Pilot Program aimed at bolstering the state’s education workforce and the retention of teachers;
• Achieved seven consecutive months of historically high employment, continued historically low unemployment, and reported nine counties with the lowest rates of unemployment on record;
• Highlighted record-breaking enrollment in Wisconsin’s Registered Apprenticeship Program for the third year in a row, with more than 17,089 registered apprentices enrolled;
• Celebrated record-high enrollment in the state’s Youth Apprenticeship Program for the second year in a row with an all-time high of 9,932 youth apprentices enrolled during the 2023-24 school year, with a record 6,671 employers participating;
• Started new youth apprenticeship pathways, including early childhood education, school-age education, administration, human resources, law enforcement, fire protection, project management, and barbering/cosmetology;
• Launched the U.S. Climate Alliance’s Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative;
• Secured the state’s designation as a U.S. Regional Tech Hub, unlocking $49 million to grow the state’s personalized medicine and biohealth sector; and
• Welcomed billions of dollars in investments from global companies to create thousands of jobs in Southeastern Wisconsin, including Microsoft, Eli Lilly and Company, Kikkoman, and more.

This is all in addition to celebrating a recent report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum, which shows Wisconsin’s personal income tax burden has fallen to an all-time low thanks in part to tax cuts signed into law by Gov. Evers, putting more money back in working families’ pockets, and continued efforts by the Evers Administration to reduce barriers to work, ensuring workers have affordable housing, transportation, and child care so they can get to work, and opportunities for education and job training. The governor also committed to making the largest biennial increase in state funding for the University of Wisconsin (UW) System in state history.

Additional background on Gov. Evers’ and the Evers Administration’s efforts to support and bolster Wisconsin’s workforce is available below.

Bolstering High-Need Areas of Wisconsin’s Workforce 

To continue building upon his administration’s efforts to address the state’s healthcare workforce challenges and as previewed in his 2024 State of the State address, Gov. Evers signed Executive Order #220 to create the Governor’s Task Force on the Healthcare Workforce. The Task Force was charged with studying the workforce challenges facing the state’s healthcare system, including recruitment and retention, identifying ways to improve patient care and alleviate the burdens on the healthcare workforce, exploring educational and training pathways to grow a sustainable healthcare workforce, and creating an action plan with solutions related to workforce development, industry innovation, education, and training for consideration in the governor’s 2025-27 executive budget.

In August, after months of meetings and speaking with groups across the state, the governor announced that the Task Force had released its final report and advisory action plan providing solutions to address the state’s long-standing healthcare workforce shortages. The Task Force adopted 10 recommendations with 26 action items representing a variety of policies and programs to address several industry issues, including education, training, recruitment, and retention of healthcare workers. The action plan represents a strategic set of policy and implementation approaches targeting the healthcare industry’s chronic challenges.

To find the Governor’s Task Force on the Healthcare Workforce Advisory Action Plan and learn more about the work of the Governor’s Task Force on the Healthcare Workforce, visit the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ (DHS) website here.

Supporting Long-Term Care Services and the Caregiving Workforce in Wisconsin
Since 2019, Gov. Evers has made investing in long-term care one of his administration’s top priorities. In 2019, Gov. Evers was proud to create a Task Force on Caregiving to help support and strengthen the direct care workforce, increase access to care, and improve the quality of caregiving in Wisconsin. Since 2019, Gov. Evers and his administration have secured increases totaling over $1.2 billion for all areas of long-term care, including nursing homes, personal care services, home and community-based services, and more.

To date, Gov. Evers has signed three consecutive biennial budgets that have made critical investments in the direct care workforce, including in the most recent budget, which approved nearly $500 million in increases for long-term care, including a five percent increase for home and community-based services (HCBS) rates.

To further his investments, in August, Gov. Evers announced that he would be directing DHS to invest $258 million in funding already designated for HCBS to create and fund a minimum fee schedule, effectively raising wages for direct care workers and providers serving older adults and individuals with disabilities. With Gov. Evers’ action, Wisconsin joined 20 other states that have a minimum fee schedule for HCBS providers, including neighboring Midwest states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan. DHS estimates this funding and the creation of the minimum fee schedule, together, will provide a 15 percent rate increase for most supportive home care services and a 40.5 percent rate increase for most of the services provided at residential facilities, among other rate increases.

Bolstering Efforts to Recruit and Retain a Talented Education Workforce

According to a 2023 report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the average annual teacher turnover rate from 2009 to 2023 was 11.5 percent, reaching an alarming 15.8 percent in the 2022-23 school year. The period studied included both the highest levels on record of teachers moving between districts and leaving the profession altogether. The report found that both rural and urban districts, districts with large populations of low-income students and students of color, and small school districts were the most impacted. Additionally, turnover was highest for teachers of color.

Having spent more than 30 years in public education himself, Gov. Evers has long supported and advocated for efforts to help recruit, retain, diversify, and bolster the state’s education workforce. During Gov. Evers’ 2024 State of the State address, he announced the creation of a pilot program for a new apprenticeship pathway in the field of education. Developed through a partnership of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), this new pilot program helps address issues in turnover and retention while also bolstering and strengthening the state’s educator pipeline by reducing barriers and encouraging more young people to enter the field. Traditional educator preparation programs can be expensive, as they often involve an unpaid internship (student teaching), which may be cost-prohibitive for low-income students, nontraditional students, or individuals looking to change careers. Additionally, providing mentorship opportunities to teachers beginning their careers has been proven to help with retention. The apprenticeship model includes built-in mentorship during the program and helps new educators build networks of support and professional learning.

In November, during National Apprenticeship Week, Gov. Evers, together with DWD and DPI, visited Brookfield Elementary School to celebrate the first cohort of eight apprentices signing their official agreements to enter the new teacher apprenticeship pilot program.

Additionally, in November, to further his efforts to bolster Wisconsin’s education workforce, Gov. Evers and DWD announced that $1 million in grants were made available for the Teacher Training and Recruitment Grant program to train and recruit teachers where shortages are most prevalent in Wisconsin. The grants, which cover two years of program costs, are available through DWD’s Expanded Wisconsin Fast Forward program.

Highlighting Wisconsin’s Record-High Employment

During Gov. Evers’ tenure, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has hit record lows, reaching an all-time low of 2.4 percent in April 2023, and Wisconsin continues to have an unemployment rate well below the national average and a labor participation rate above the national average.

In fact, Gov. Evers announced Wisconsin achieved a new record high for employment during November 2024, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wisconsin’s labor force increased by 7,200 over the month and 14,700 over the year. The number of people employed increased by 6,000 over the month to a record-high 3,073,900 employed. The new record for total employment breaks the record announced the previous month and marks the seventh consecutive monthly record for state employment, highlighting the unprecedented number of workers participating in Wisconsin’s economy.

Further, in October, the governor announced nine counties across the state, including several counties in Northern Wisconsin, showed the lowest rates of unemployment on record. Counties with record-low unemployment include Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Door, Langlade, Oconto, Pepin, Rock, and Sawyer, with unemployment rates being as low as 1.9 percent and no higher than 2.7 percent in these counties.

Reducing Barriers and Expanding Apprenticeship Pathways 

Wisconsin created its registered apprenticeship program 112 years ago and was the first state in the nation to have a registered apprenticeship program as we know it today. Wisconsin’s program is unique among the 50 states by requiring employers to pay their apprentices for both time worked and time spent in required classroom instruction. This recognizes the importance of a dual training system that combines skills obtained on the job site with technical knowledge in the classroom.

During “National Apprenticeship Week” in November, Gov. Evers announced that Wisconsin’s Registered Apprenticeship Program had reached an all-time record of 17,089 enrolled apprentices. This surpasses record-high participation in both 2022 and 2023 and marks the third consecutive year that the Registered Apprenticeship Program has reached an all-time record in the program’s 112-year history. The state’s record-high apprenticeship numbers further cement apprenticeship as a time-tested, proven solution to meet employers’ needs for skilled workers in traditional and emerging industries.

Additionally, in May, DWD announced an all-time high of 9,932 youth apprentices enrolled during the 2023-24 school year, with a record 6,671 employers participating. Youth Apprenticeship, which started in Wisconsin as a first-of-its-kind program in 1991, is a strong connector to registered apprenticeship programs.

Throughout the year, Gov. Evers and DWD also announced eight new occupational pathways in Wisconsin’s Youth Apprenticeship program, including early childhood education, school-age education, administrative professional, human resources professional, law enforcement, fire protection, project management, and barbering/cosmetology. The new pathways, which combine on-the-job skill training with classroom learning, bring the total number of occupational pathways to 83 in 16 program areas. Youth Apprenticeship opportunities are offered locally by consortia composed of school districts, technical colleges, chambers of commerce, and other partners.

Further, Gov. Evers, together with his fellow governors of the U.S. Climate Alliance, announced the launch of the U.S. Climate Alliance Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative, which aims to expand the clean energy workforce nationwide and support job and apprenticeship training in innovative industries and technologies by training 1 million new registered apprentices by 2035 across the Alliance’s member states and territories.

Supporting Economic Development and Creating Family-Supporting Jobs

Earlier this year, Gov. Evers, together with U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), announced that Wisconsin has officially been selected as a U.S. Regional Tech Hub, unlocking $49 million to grow the state’s personalized medicine and biohealth sector, including advancing research and innovation, growing the state’s economy and creating jobs, and boosting American competitiveness in a cutting-edge industry. Wisconsin is a national leader in biohealth industries, and over the first 10 years, the Tech Hub is projected to create more than 30,000 jobs in the personalized medicine sector, over 111,000 indirect jobs attributable to the Tech Hub in Wisconsin, and $9 billion worth of economic development.

In addition to Wisconsin’s designation as a Tech Hub, Gov. Evers has also worked to secure multi-billion dollar investments from key industry leaders like Microsoft, Eli Lilly and Company, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, Kikkoman Foods Inc., all of which are working to promote economic development and create thousands of local jobs, most especially in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Gov. Evers welcomed President Joe Biden to Wisconsin and joined Microsoft officials to celebrate Microsoft’s investment of $3.3 billion to expand its national cloud and AI infrastructure capacity through the development of a state-of-the-art datacenter campus in Mount Pleasant. The project is expected to bring 2,000 union construction jobs to the area by the end of this year, as well as provide long-term employment opportunities over the next several years.

Additionally, Gov. Evers announced that Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, which feeds more than 46 million dogs and 68 million cats every year, is expanding its production facility in Jefferson—a $195 million project that is expected to bring an additional 100 jobs to the community it has called home since 1910.

Gov. Evers also joined a groundbreaking ceremony for Kikkoman Foods Inc.’s new state-of-the-art manufacturing and production facility in Jefferson. Kikkoman is investing more than $560 million to build this new facility in Jefferson, and together with an additional nearly $250 million expansion effort at the company’s existing facility in Walworth, the projects are expected to create at least 83 new high-paying jobs in Wisconsin over the next 12 years.

This month, Gov. Evers joined Eli Lilly and Company officials to announce a $3 billion expansion of the Kenosha County manufacturing facility that the company acquired earlier this year. Lilly expects to add 750 highly skilled jobs to the current 130-plus workforce at this location in Southeastern Wisconsin. The company plans to start construction on the expansion next year, creating an expected 2,000 construction jobs.

Additionally, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) announced Fermented Food Holdings Inc. is investing $13 million to expand local production in Bear Creek and relocate its corporate headquarters to Madison, creating 60 high-paying jobs and supporting Wisconsin’s agricultural economy. WEDC is supporting the expansion with $500,000 in performance-based tax credits.

Finally, Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced an over $1.5 million Transportation Economic Assistance (TEA) grant to the village of DeForest. The grant will help the village complete the road construction needed to serve the new Kwik Trip Inc. distribution center and assist in supporting 398 jobs in South Central Wisconsin. In addition, they also announced an $885,000 TEA grant to the village of Pleasant Prairie this year. The grant will support a rail project to enable corrugated packaging company WestRock to open a new manufacturing facility and create 177 jobs in this growing Southeast Wisconsin community.

Ensuring Artificial Intelligence Works for Wisconsin

In August 2023, Gov. Evers signed Executive Order #211, creating the Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Administered by DWD in coordination with the Wisconsin Department of Administration and WEDC, the Task Force brought together leaders from business, agriculture, education, technology, labor, workforce development, and government to identify policies and investments that will advance Wisconsin workers, employers, and job seekers through this technological transformation.

In July, Gov. Evers announced the final action plan of the Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and AI, offering a positive path forward to connect more workers with AI skills, boost the competitive advantage of Wisconsin employers, and advance economic opportunity through a series of strategic principles and policies. The plan builds on Wisconsin’s success in connecting underutilized talent pools with in-demand skills and strengthening the ability of employers throughout the state to attract and retain talent.

Expanding Access to Affordable Workforce Housing

Access to safe, reliable, and affordable housing is a critical part of helping address the workforce challenges facing the state. For years, Gov. Evers has proposed robust provisions and investments in expanding access to housing statewide, including in his 2023-25 proposed budget, which provided one of the largest state investments in workforce housing—$525 million—in state history.

Since signing the budget, Gov. Evers and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority have so far announced the Infrastructure Access Loan program, the Restore Main Street, and the Vacancy-to-Vitality loan programs. These loan programs were created by bipartisan legislation and supported by the historic state funding provided by the 2023-25 biennial budget. Together, these programs help low- to moderate-income households to renovate or repair their current home and address hazards like lead and mold, support the creation of new affordable and senior housing, provide loans for the conversion of vacant commercial buildings to new residential developments of workforce or senior housing, and more. Over the course of the year, Gov. Evers awarded more than $13 million in funding for the Infrastructure Access, Restore Main Street, and Vacancy-to-Vitality loan programs, which will support the development of more than 967 units of affordable housing statewide.

Supporting and Investing in the State’s Next-Generation Workforce

The UW System is a major economic driver and a critical resource for building the state’s next-generation workforce. To support these efforts, earlier this year, Gov. Evers signed 2023 Wisconsin Act 95, requiring the Board of Regents at the UW System to establish a guaranteed admission program for certain Wisconsin high school students. According to the UW System, nearly 90 percent of in-state UW System graduates stay in Wisconsin five years after graduation.

Additionally, Gov. Evers believes that supporting and investing in Wisconsin’s public education system at every level is critical in helping the state train, recruit, and retain highly skilled workers who will live and stay in Wisconsin. Earlier this year, Gov. Evers announced his plan to request an over $400 million increase in each year of the biennium in the state’s next biennial budget—an over $800 million increase over the two-year budget period in total, the largest biennial increase in state funding for the UW System in state history—a move aimed at preventing further staff and faculty layoffs, campus closures, and program cuts and consolidations.

The governor’s announcement came as six UW branch campuses have announced closures, and several UW campuses have been forced to furlough and lay off employees, shift funding or make cuts, and restructure portions of campus operations, which the governor argued is largely due to Republican lawmakers’ actions and inaction over the last decade, as highlighted in reporting by PolitiFact Wisconsin. According to the State Higher Education Finance Report, which is released by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, Wisconsin ranked 42nd for public funding for four-year colleges based on 2022 data. A report released in April 2023 by the Wisconsin Policy Forum found that the UW System ranked 43rd nationally for per-student funding in 2021.

The Board of Regents ultimately answered the governor’s call, approving an agency budget request that met the governor’s request to make robust, ongoing state investments in the UW System.

Delivering Targeted Tax Relief to Working Families

Over the course of his tenure, Gov. Evers has more than delivered on the promise he made before being elected governor in 2018 to provide a 10-percent, middle-class tax cut. Through the income tax cuts the governor has signed into law to date, Wisconsin taxpayers will see $1.5 billion in tax relief annually, primarily targeted to the middle class. Additionally, each of the governor’s three biennial budgets that he signed included tax cuts for Wisconsin.

Recently, Gov. Evers highlighted a report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, which states Wisconsin’s the state’s tax burden, also known as the state’s personal income tax or the amount Wisconsinites pay as a share of their personal income, has hit an all-time low in state history. According to the report, in 2022, driven by strong growth in incomes, tight property tax limits, and a $1 billion state income tax cut signed into law by Gov. Evers in the 2021-23 biennial budget, Wisconsin’s taxpayers saw a record-low personal income tax rate of 9.9 percent, down more than 10 percent from the previous year and bringing that state’s tax ranking to the 35th lowest in the nation.

Further, this year, the governor was proud to sign 2023 Wisconsin Act 101, which expands the current child and dependent care tax credit from 50 percent to 100 percent of the federal credit, helping reduce the tax burden for families struggling to afford the high cost of child care and care for adult dependents. Act 101, similar to a proposal Gov. Evers recommended in his 2023-25 biennial budget proposal, provides tax relief to over 110,000 Wisconsin taxpayers at an average benefit of over $656 per filer, totaling nearly $73 million in annual tax relief.