With seven-year funding support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Milwaukee Jobs Initiative is designed to recruit and train central city workers for skilled employment opportunities throughout the region. Unions are heavily involved in the Initiative, and union representatives make up a third of the project's tripartite board. Labor and management representatives sit down to identify the skill needs for the jobs. The WRTP then works with community-based organizations and others to recruit people for those jobs and to provide training that lasts anywhere from four to twelve weeks. They also provide the external supports necessary to allow the recruits to get and keep the jobs.
Unions use mentoring and buddy systems so that new workers are paired with experienced workers.
The Union Advantage Union involvement in the Initiative is critical. Union members and leaders know the industries and firms where the jobs are. They know who's hiring. They also know what kinds of specific skills are required and how they can best be taught. This is far more effective than most recruitment systems, where those doing the recruitment and training often have little direct knowledge or connection to the final job.