10 Jul Madison College, MATC, UW bolster accessibility of biohealth career pathways

By IB Staff, IB InBusiness

Madison College is leading one of Wisconsin’s six Tech Hub projects in partnership with Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) and the Universities of Wisconsin (UW), with support from the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin (WDBSCW) and Employ Milwaukee Inc.

The Actualizing Biohealth Career (ABC) Pathways project aims to raise awareness and create opportunities for biohealth careers in underrepresented communities. It will focus on developing stackable and tailored credentials and promoting work-based learning, such as apprenticeships, to meet the industry’s demand.

The ABC Pathways project will receive $12.5 million in federal funding and $1.5 million in state of Wisconsin matching funds for a total investment of $14 million. The project aims to train and place 2,000 workers in biohealth jobs within five years, with a 30% employee diversity goal. Wisconsin biohealth sector employees earn an average wage of $96,000, substantially higher than the state’s private-sector average.

UW will work to expand employer engagement, structured work-based experiences, and career pathways aligned with industry and degree credentials. It will leverage industry partners, its accredited small business technical assistance network, and labs and data science institutes for new, structured experiential learning emphasizing business, entrepreneurship, and AI applications in biohealth and biomanufacturing. Read more…