YA Wisconsin

What YA Wisconsin does

YA Wisconsin is a state-approved Youth Apprenticeship program operated as a service line under Cooperative Educational Service Agency 6 (CESA 6), one of 12 non-profit cooperative educational service agencies in Wisconsin. The program connects high school juniors and seniors with local employers for paid, 1- or 2-year work-based learning experiences spanning more than 80 career areas across 16 structured career pathways including Agriculture, Health Science, Information Technology, Manufacturing, and STEM. Students earn wages, high school credit, and potentially industry-recognized credentials or college credit while working under the mentorship of local business professionals.

The program is delivered through a distributed network of approximately 20+ Youth Apprenticeship Coordinators embedded across at least 12 Wisconsin counties (Calumet, Outagamie, Waupaca, Winnebago, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Washington, and Milwaukee). Core operational technology consists of web-based portals (yawisconsin.org and my.yawisconsin.org) for student and employer applications, JotForm for form processing, and standard social/content channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, podcast) for awareness. No proprietary AI or matching platform is in evidence; matching is coordinator-mediated.

YA Wisconsin operates as a free program for students and employers, with no participant-facing pricing. The program is funded through CESA 6's institutional channels, which rely on Wisconsin public-education funding and tax-levy allocations routed through the CESA cooperative structure. YA Wisconsin is governed indirectly by CESA 6's 11-member Board of Control representing public-school districts. Strategic partners include CESA 6 (parent), Inspire WI (career exploration funnel), Wisconsin school districts (academic integration via Academic and Career Planning frameworks), and a distributed base of Wisconsin employers who host apprentices.

Name

YA Wisconsin

Legal name

Cooperative Educational Service Agency 6

Website

https://yawisconsin.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

YA Wisconsin is a state-approved Youth Apprenticeship program operated by CESA 6, connecting Wisconsin high school juniors and seniors with local employers for paid 1-2 year apprenticeships spanning 80+ career areas and 16 career pathways, delivered through regional coordinators at no cost to participants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Apprenticeship and Workforce Development Services

NAICS

Apprenticeship Training (611513), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAOAC

Apprenticeships, Pre-Apprenticeships & Work-Based Learning

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Workforce Development Initiatives

SECONDARYBPACANAK

Apprenticeships, Internships & Work-Based Learning Programs

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/Training, Learning & Development Services

Keywords

• Youth apprenticeship program
• Workforce development services
• Career pathways education
• School employer partnerships
• Work-based learning

Headquarters

HQ city

Oshkosh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Youth Apprenticeship Program Services: YA Wisconsin operates as a free program for students and employers, funded through CESA 6 (Cooperative Educational Service Agency 6), a non-profit educational service agency. The program is state-approved and likely receives public funding. Revenue is not generated from participants but from institutional funding sources supporting workforce development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

YA Wisconsin administers a state-approved 1 or 2-year Youth Apprenticeship Program that connects high school juniors and seniors with local Wisconsin employers for paid, mentored work-based learning. Students earn wages, high school credit, and industry-recognized credentials across 16 career pathways covering 80+ career areas. The program is coordinated by a distributed team of regional Youth Apprenticeship Coordinators and supported by Student and Employer web portals for application management and program tracking.

Product overview

YA Wisconsin is a workforce development organization operated by CESA 6 (Cooperative Educational Service Agency 6) that administers the Youth Apprenticeship program across Wisconsin. The program operates as a coordination platform connecting high school students with employers, facilitated through regional Youth Apprenticeship Coordinators. The core offering consists of the Youth Apprenticeship Program—a 1 or 2-year structured career exploration and work-based learning initiative—supported by Student and Employer Portals for application management and program tracking. The program encompasses 16 Career Pathways spanning industries from Agriculture to Transportation, with accompanying Student, Employer, School, and Parent Resources providing documentation, training materials, and guidance. The organization functions as an education and workforce intermediary rather than a technology platform, focusing on program coordination, student-employer matching, and compliance oversight rather than software product development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Youth Apprenticeship Program A state-approved 1 or 2-year workforce development program for high school juniors and seniors combining classroom learning with real-world work experience. Students earn wages, high school credit, and industry-recognized credentials while being mentored by local business professionals across 16 career pathways and 80+ career areas.
• Career Pathways A structured catalog of 16 career pathway categories including Agriculture, Health Science, IT, Manufacturing, and STEM that students can explore to find apprenticeship opportunities aligned with their interests, covering 80+ career areas.
• Student and Employer Portal A combined web portal at my.yawisconsin.org enabling students to access Youth Apprenticeship resources, track applications, and monitor program progress, and allowing employers to post positions, review applications, manage apprentices, and submit required documentation.
• Youth Apprenticeship Coordination Services Regional coordination services delivered by a distributed team of Youth Apprenticeship Coordinators who guide students and employers through the apprenticeship process, provide career advising, assist with placements, and ensure program compliance across Wisconsin counties.

Quantifiable outcome

• State-approved program offering industry-recognized certificates in 80+ career areas
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CESA 6 (Cooperative Educational Service Agency 6)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCESA 6 is the parent organization of YA Wisconsin. It is a non-profit, member-driven cooperative educational service agency - one of 12 CESAs in Wisconsin. CESA 6 governs YA Wisconsin and provides organizational support, with offices headquartered in Oshkosh, WI. The agency is governed by an 11-member Board of Control representing public-school districts in the region.
• Inspire WIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInspire WI is a career exploration platform that YA Wisconsin partners with to connect students with career exploration activities and events. Students are directed to Inspire WI as a first step in career exploration before applying for Youth Apprenticeship programs.
• Wisconsin School DistrictscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYA Wisconsin partners with school districts across multiple Wisconsin counties to integrate youth apprenticeship into academic and career planning. Districts provide academic support, coordinate student schedules, and facilitate program enrollment.
• Wisconsin EmployerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Wisconsin businesses host youth apprentices and provide mentorship, on-the-job training, and wages. Employers benefit from developing future workforce talent while contributing to community education.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship (other CESA regions): The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development coordinates Youth Apprenticeship programs across all 12 CESAs in Wisconsin. Other CESA-operated YA programs (e.g., CESA 1, CESA 10) deliver the same state-approved apprenticeship model to different regions and are the most directly comparable peers, sharing curriculum frameworks, credentialing, and stakeholder model.
• Inspire WI: Inspire WI is a Wisconsin career exploration platform that YA Wisconsin explicitly partners with as a top-of-funnel funnel for students. It serves overlapping audiences (Wisconsin high schoolers, employers, schools) focused on career discovery, making it a direct adjacent peer in the youth career-readiness ecosystem.

Regional players

• Apprenticeship Carolina: Apprenticeship Carolina is a statewide apprenticeship initiative supported by the South Carolina Technical College System, focused on expanding youth and adult apprenticeship opportunities. It is a regional peer with a comparable youth apprenticeship coordination model, employer-matching function, and state-government institutional backing.
• Career Connect Washington: Career Connect Washington is a statewide career-connected learning initiative that connects Washington state youth with work-based learning, including apprenticeships. It is comparable to YA Wisconsin as a state-level youth apprenticeship/work-based learning coordinator, though it serves a different geography and a broader portfolio of programs.

Broad incumbents

• Wisconsin Technical College System: WTCS comprises 16 technical colleges across Wisconsin delivering career and technical education, apprenticeships, and credentials. It is a broader incumbent in the same workforce-development space, offering overlapping youth apprenticeship-adjacent programs and serving as a key post-secondary pathway that YA Wisconsin students transition into.
• SkillsUSA: SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit serving middle school, high school, and college students preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled-service occupations. It shares the youth workforce-development mission with YA Wisconsin, though it operates through chapters and competitions rather than direct employer-matching apprenticeships.
• Junior Achievement: Junior Achievement is a national nonprofit delivering work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy programs to K-12 students, including career exploration and employer connections. It overlaps with YA Wisconsin on the youth career-readiness mission but operates more broadly without the apprenticeship-specific state credentialing framework.

Others

• Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development: Wisconsin DWD is the state agency that administers the official Youth Apprenticeship program framework in which YA Wisconsin operates. It is an ecosystem participant and regulator rather than a direct competitor, but its policies, funding decisions, and program standards directly shape YA Wisconsin's operating model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCdRQEeyT0MEcJgsGCEpeGDA
• Facebookfacebook.com/YAwisconsin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ya-wisconsin
• Instagraminstagram.com/ya_wisconsin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about YA Wisconsin