MCTS Graduates First Class of Journeyman Bus Drivers

MCTS registered apprenticeship graduates at ceremony on Aug. 18, 2026. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

The Milwaukee County Transit System‘s first journeyworker bus operators graduated Tuesday.

Last year, MCTS launched an apprenticeship training program with the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). The new 14-month training program pairs newly hired bus operator apprentices with veteran employees who serve as mentors, providing additional knowledge and expertise that can’t be easily imparted in a classroom. During a graduation ceremony Tuesday, 13 apprentices received official journeyworker certifications from DWD.

“This is the first apprenticeship graduation, that we know of, of its kind in the state of Wisconsin,” MCTS CEO Steve Fuentes told Urban Milwaukee. “We’re extremely proud of these 13 individuals and their mentors as well. We look forward to doing many more of these.”

MCTS Chief Human Resources Officer Ben Stark worked with DWD for four years to develop a journeyworker program for bus operators. The transit system plans to make the apprenticeship model its new standard for hiring and training bus operators. When it launched in 2025, MCTS officials expressed hope that the program would improve operator preparedness and retention. Like other transit systems, MCTS has struggled in recent years to retain bus operators.

Fuentes said the mentorship aspect of the program provides new hires with someone in the company who can help them understand the demands of the career they are embarking on.

“That’s very valuable when you have somebody there telling you what to look for, the pitfalls, before you get to them,” said Fuentes, who started his career in transit as a bus operator with the Chicago Transit Authority. “I probably would have benefited from having a mentor.”

Along with the bus operator apprentices, MCTS has also developed an 18-month apprenticeship program for mechanics. Nationally, there is a shortage of automotive mechanics and technicians. The program helps MCTS find and train new mechanics by giving current MCTS employees the opportunity to learn a skilled trade on the job. Ruben Salas, MCTS deputy CEO, credits a mechanic apprenticeship program at the Fort Worth Transit Authority with providing the opportunity that launched his career in public transit.

Wisconsin developed the first registered apprenticeship program in the country in 1911, said Chuck Olsen, DWD outreach manager for Emerging Apprenticeship Sectors. Last year, there were more than 18,000 apprentices working across more than 3,000 employers in the state. The new MCTS registered apprenticeship program is the first of its kind in the state, Olsen said.

“You’re now part of a rich tradition and history of the registered apprenticeship completers in the state of Wisconsin,” Olsen told the new graduates. “Now that you have these skills, DWD and our bureau ask of you: pass on your newly attained knowledge to the next generation of apprentices.”