Education, transportation will be crucial as Milwaukee workers vie for Foxconn jobs

Jobs and transportation were front and center Saturday during a community brainstorming session on how Foxconn's facility in southeastern Wisconsin will affect Milwaukee residents.

"The train has left the station and we need to make sure we're ready to get on board," Eve Hall, president and chief executive of the Milwaukee Urban League, told about 75 people assembled in the basement of St. Matthew C.M.E. Church.

Wisconsin has approved a $3 billion incentive package to lure Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group to Racine County. Groundbreaking on the massive facility is scheduled for the spring.

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State Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), who opposed the Foxconn incentive package in the Legislature, said she has concerns about the company's hiring practices and history of backing out of deals.

Despite those reservations, Taylor said she wants to see Milwaukee workers get jobs at the facility.

"It's happening," she said. "The question is: How do we make sure to get access to what is happening?"

Several of the speakers said significant issues need to be addressed, including job training and transportation. There is a lack of mass transit in the region to get inner-city Milwaukee workers to Foxconn's yet-to-be-announced Racine County site.

"How are we going to make sure we get people to those jobs who are most in need," said Jamaal Smith, racial justice community engagement manager at YWCA Southeast Wisconsin.

Timothy R. Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, said Foxconn is "very focused on transportation."

Gerard Randall, executive director of the Milwaukee Education Partnership, said Foxconn will "transform the demographics of this region," as the firm hires talent ranging from engineers to technicians to maintenance workers.

International workers also are expected to be part of the mix, Randall said, and they will have an impact on schools and housing in Racine and Kenosha counties.

Sheehy was asked by one participant about the educational requirements that would be needed to work at the facility.

He spoke of a range from high school graduates with skills and job experience all the way up to graduate degree holders. Engineers are expected to be vital in research and development.

Sheehy also emphasized the need for thousands of construction workers to build the facility. He expressed hope that local trades workers who are now on the job constructing Milwaukee's new Bucks arena can help in building Foxconn.