FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Buckley Brinkman, Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity; WMC survey reveals employers’ views on K-12 education system

January 23, 2026

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Buckley Brinkman, advisor to the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity.

Brinkman discusses some of the work being done to advance the state’s manufacturing industry, as well as the path ahead for the WCMP. The center is part of the national network for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and has played a role in helping small and medium manufacturers stay competitive.

This work is done through the Manufacturing Outreach Center at UW-Stout and the Wisconsin MEP, located in the state’s southeastern region. These projects are evaluated based on the impact for manufacturing companies, ranging from company growth to capital investments and job creation or retention.

“It’s fun to be part of that, because those metrics align us perfectly with our clients, so by those metrics, the MEP in Wisconsin has had more than $8.9 billion worth of impact for manufacturers throughout the state,” Brinkman said.

Some of these efforts have focused on improving fundamental operations to be more profitable, while others have involved applying advanced technologies such as automation and AI.

“Around AI, we really help manufacturers understand what it is, where they can get started, and how they can pick projects that will actually generate an ROI for them,” he said. “So we’re really helping manufacturers in practical ways to stay competitive, and really improve and grow.”

Brinkman recently announced on LinkedIn that he’s wrapping up his time with the MEP network, and he explains the context for that decision.

“As anybody who’s touched federal funds in the last year knows, 2025 was a very difficult year, we went through eight months of really making sure that the MEP would survive,” he said. “And in the budget bills that are going through, we have funding, we have very good language to keep the MEP system alive.”

The WCMP was created about a decade ago as a “buffer” between the MOC and WMEP, to facilitate better collaboration between the organizations. Brinkman says that role is no longer needed, so winding down the WCMP will help reduce bureaucracy while providing more funding for the other two groups.

“It’s a much more efficient operation, I think it will be much more effective for manufacturers across Wisconsin,” he said.

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

See a new WisBusiness column from Brinkman.

— Nearly two-thirds of business leaders in a recent WMC survey say they have employees who struggle with reading or math.

The latest winter survey results from Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, released yesterday, are focused on education issues and the state’s workforce.

When asked if the current K-12 education system adequately prepares students for their workforce needs, 56% of respondents said no, 23% said yes and 21% said they weren’t sure. Just 10% of respondents rated the quality of their local school district as excellent in the survey.

And 64% said some of their workers struggle with reading and math, while 36% said they don’t.

Meanwhile, 30% said they’ve had to provide employees with extra education or tutoring because their K-12 education didn’t adequately prepare them with these skills. Seventy percent said they haven’t had to do so.

Rachel Ver Velde, associate vice president of government relations and senior political advisor for WMC, says “it’s time to evaluate the system” of education given the discontent revealed in the survey.

“As taxpayers, we’re investing more and more into public education,” she said in a release. “But the return on investment just isn’t there. Our education system isn’t equipping Wisconsin students for Wisconsin jobs, and employers are understandably frustrated.”

Employers were also asked about top hurdles to hiring workers, with 59% pointing to a lack of skilled applicants and 20% saying they’re lacking applicants altogether.

The survey was conducted from Dec. 8 to Jan. 2 through an online survey and traditional mail, tapping 205 employers that WMC says are representative of its membership.

See the survey results and release.

— Wisconsin’s unemployment rate remained at 3.1% in December, the state Department of Workforce Development announced.

The agency today issued the latest state labor market data, based on preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It shows Wisconsin had 3,021,200 total employment last month after a decline of 65,500 over the year.

State unemployment for December was 1.3 percentage points below the national rate of 4.4%.

Meanwhile, the state’s labor force participation rate ticked up to 64.2%. While that was above the national rate of 62.4% for the month, it marks a 1.7 percentage point decline from Wisconsin’s December 2024 participation rate of 65.9%.

See the release.

— A group of Dem state lawmakers who represent parts of the 3rd CD are calling for U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden to ensure Wisconsin doesn’t lose access to millions in additional hospital assessment dollars approved in the state budget.

The eight lawmakers sent a joint letter to Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, after the Legislative Fiscal Bureau in a recent revenue projection noted preliminary guidance from the Trump administration has created uncertainty over the increase Wisconsin made to its hospital assessment in the 2025-27 budget.

The move was designed to draw more matching dollars from the federal government that would then be sent back to hospitals in payments that would exceed their higher assessments. But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid is currently writing federal rules addressing such moves, and if Wisconsin’s change is disallowed, it would mean $792 million less in GPR for the biennium.

The lawmakers said hospitals were counting on the funding to stay open and will need it to serve patients with one-third of Wisconsin hospitals operating at a deficit, pointing to $1.6 billion in lost Medicaid reimbursement dollars.

“At a time when our medical institutions are facing unprecedented financial challenges, we must do everything we can to ensure their ability to continue to operate,” the lawmakers wrote. “Our state budget was counting on it, and our constituents’ lives literally depend on it. We implore you to do everything in your power to reverse these catastrophic decisions.”

Evers and GOP lawmakers reached a deal to increase the hospital assessment before President Donald Trump signed a reconciliation bill in order to ensure the boost wouldn’t be blocked by a provision in the federal bill. At the time, Van Orden said he, fellow congressional and state Republicans ensured “access to health care” in the state budget.

In response to the Dem lawmakers’ letter, Van Orden spokesperson Grace Kim told WisPolitics the congressman “has been working day and night with the administration to ensure Wisconsin receives the hospital funding.”

She also touted the more than $203 million Wisconsin received from the Rural Health Transformation Program created in the reconciliation bill.

“Congressman Van Orden remains committed to delivering results and ensuring Wisconsin families have high quality, readily available, and actually affordable healthcare,” Kim said.

See more from the WisPolitics DC Wrap.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— The state Senate has approved SB 371, which would require schools to include certain information in their courses on pregnancy.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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