The Employment and Training Institute prepares technical assistance studies on job opportunities and training priorities for new labor force entrants based on findings from its annual job openings surveys of employers in the Milwaukee Region. These reports have been used by the U.S. Department of Labor (for the planned Milwaukee Job Corps center) and Milwaukee Area Technical College to develop new training programs to meet changing needs of local employers.

• Learning About the Welding Job Market in the Southeast Wisconsin Region, prepared for the WOW Workforce Development Inc. and the Regional Training Alliance, 2008
  (Details regional demand for welders based on a targeted welder openings survey of frabricated metal product manufacturing firms and other large manufacturing employers; outlines training opportunities at Gateway Technical College, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Moraine Park Technical College, and Waukesha County Technical College). See also, Assessing Demand and Training for Welders in Southeast Wisconsin Region.

• Job Opportunities for Milwaukee Youth Entering the Labor Force: Skill and Training Needs of Employers in the Milwaukee Metro Area, prepared for the Milwaukee Job Corps, 2006.
  (Levels of job demand and training requirements for nursing assistants, health aides, health technicians, registered nurses, CNC operators, machine operators, assemblers, welders, and computer specialists; computer skills and driver's license required for openings in all career areas.)

• Occupational Drill Down of Training Needs in the Milwaukee Metro Area, prepared for Milwaukee Area Technical College, 2006.
  (Detailed analysis of current job openings and training requirements in computer fields, health, manufacturing, clerking and administrative support, and service work.)

• New Careers for Information Processing Workers in the Health Fields, prepared for MATC, 2006.
  (Discussion of an emerging occupation in health industries for workers with "hybrid skills," including a mix of clerical, computer, communication, and interpersonal skills along with an understanding of medical terminology and procedures.)

The Employment and Training Institute conducted employment and earnings follow-up studies of graduates of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and MATC by department and by sending MPS high school to determine the employment and earnings of graduates by degree and program area. Findings reports by MPS high school were reviewed by school counselors and teachers. Summaries of the research are posted online.

• UWM and the Wisconsin Economy, 2000.
  (UWM shows a "brain gain" rather than "brain drain," with 89% of graduates from in-state high schools remaining in Wisconsin and 74% of graduates from out-of-state high schools continuing to work in Wisconsin after graduation.)

• MATC Advantages for Filling Demand for High School/High Tech Workers, 2000.
  (One of 5 workers in the Milwaukee metro area has taken coursework at MATC, and 98% of MATC graduates remain in Wisconsin.)

• Longitudinal Follow-Up Study of Milwaukee Public School Students Graduating from Milwaukee Area Technical College, 1993-1998
  (Almost 1 of every 3 MATC graduates were from MPS high schools. Highest earnings were seen for graduates in tool and die making, fire science, apprenticeships, and microcomputer specialties.)

• Longitudinal Follow-Up Study of Milwaukee Public School Students Graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: 1989-1998, 2000.
  (1 of every 10 UWM graduates were from MPS high schools. Most popular fields of study were accounting, criminal justice, finance, and economics for males and education, nursing, social work, accounting, and criminal justice for females.)

• Employment and Education Experiences of Milwaukee Public Schools Graduates: A Follow-Up Study of the Class of 1999, 2000.
  (Half of the MPS graduates were enrolled in postsecondary education and the majority of these, 60% of the males and 62% of the females, also held jobs. 7% of MPS male graduates and 2% of the females enlisted in the military.)

The Employment and Training Institute collaborated with teachers and students at Milwaukee Public Schools and Milwaukee Area Technical College to produce a series of booklets on school-to-work career planning, utilizing labor market information collected from the ETI annual job vacancies surveys of employers in the four-county area. Two of the three booklets were printed by MATC students in the associate degree printing program. The materials were distributed to classes throughout MPS middle and high schools, and ETI staff trained MPS counselors in use of the curriculum materials and labor market resources.

In the 1980s the Employment and Training Institute assisted then-state superintendent Herbert Grover in implementing "Education for Employment," a statewide initiative to help schools focus instruction on the preparation of students for the workforce, not just to take jobs but also to make jobs.

• The ETI worked with Moraine Park Technical College (then Moraine Park Technical Institute, MPTI) and 18 school districts to identify common learning objectives and measurable competencies to serve as the basis for "two plus two" articulation agreements allowing high school students to earn up to 2 years of technical college credits for high school coursework.

Based on the work with MPTI, local districts, and Cooperative Service Educational Agency CESA #6, the ETI was commissioned by the Department of Public Instruction to prepare Planning Guides for all 72 Wisconsin counties to aid local educators in designing, revising and establishing educational programs based on current labor market information. (A number of the areas of analysis have subsequently been incorporated into state Department of Workforce Development annual publications.) A sample publication is shown below.

• Milwaukee County Planning Guide for Education and Employment, 1988.
  (Private employment changes by county, impact of the baby boom, impact of the recession of 1981-83, occupational data by years of schooling completed, sex equity in education, public school graduates enrolled in technical degree programs, employer directories)

• Admissions Requirements of the Wisconsin Vocational, Technical and Adult Education (VTAE) System as They Apply to the High School Equivalency Holder, 1985.
  This planning guide for teachers and students identifies the admission requirements for every associate degree, diploma and certificate program offered in Wisconsin through the VTAE system. Listed for each program are the admission test(s) used, high school coursework expected or required, reading and math skills required, and whether GEDs and non-graduates are accepted. For several districts reading levels are identified for textbooks used in degree and diploma courses.

The impetus for the curriculum changes came in large part from research showing few Ethan Allen and Lincoln Hills students reenrolling in school after release and even fewer graduating.

• Educational Follow-Up Study of Juveniles Released from Ethan Allen and Lincoln Hills Schools, 1982.
  (Of 759 youth released in 1979, only 24, or 3%, completed a traditional high school program. For many youth corrections schools provided their first successful high school educational experience: 48% of all 15, 16, and 17 year old youth arrived at Ethan Allen and Lincoln Hills with no high school credits. At Ethan Allen, 40% of entering youth had reading levels below 6th grade. Within 3 years, 19% of the youth released in 1979 were incarcerated as adults in Wisconsin prisons.)

• Technical Assistance Guide for Implementing Youth Employment Competency Programs Under JTPA, 1984.
  (Resources and performance measures for youth pre-employment competencies: completing a job application, participating in a job interview, identifying proper work habits and behavior, describing standard benefits and payroll structure, developing a personal career plan, and using labor market information to find jobs)