BioForward Wisconsin

Overview

The Worldwide Instructional Design System (WIDS) partnered with the University of Wisconsin Workforce Development/Biohealth Tech Hub – a consortium led by BioForward Wisconsin – and several area colleges, including Madison College and Milwaukee Area Technical College. The partnership was part of a $49 million U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant awarded in 2023 to strengthen Wisconsin’s biotech industry. WIDS was tasked with helping identify workforce gaps and aligning educational programs to better prepare students for high-demand careers in biotechnology.

‍

The Challenge

Wisconsin’s biotech industry is growing rapidly, but employers face persistent workforce shortages. Critical roles such as quality engineers and technicians, biohealth supervisors, lab technicians, and biomedical engineering technicians require a clear pipeline of skilled workers. The challenge was to align education and training programs with real industry needs, ensuring students graduate with the knowledge, skills, and credentials employers demand. This required collaboration between educators, industry leaders, and workforce experts to develop practical, validated solutions.

‍

The WIDS Solution

The project unfolded over four key phases:

• Project Planning: A leadership team of educators and occupational experts outlined expectations, defined outcomes and set a project timeline. Target occupations included quality engineers and technicians, biohealth supervisors, lab technicians and biomedical engineering technicians.
• Skills Analysis: Using the DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) method, WIDS conducted in-depth occupational analyses to identify essential duties, tasks and emerging trends. Input from subject matter experts was compiled and validated through surveys, revealing striking consensus on the core competencies needed across roles.

"The level of consensus in the DACUM was remarkable," said Ginger Auchter, Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub employer engagement manager. "It feels less like a job analysis and more like an industry rallying cry - one that gave a strong voice to and clearly echoed the needs of employers ready to hire."

‍

• Program Design: Educators and industry experts reviewed DACUM results, verified required certifications and mapped out potential learning pathways. They drafted a stackable credential model spanning high school through college and pinpointed existing educational resources that support workforce readiness.
• Gap Analysis: Finally, the team aligned current learning opportunities with job requirements, identified gaps and proposed solutions - from new courses to hands-on training. The result: a clear set of recommendations to guide program development and implementation.

‍

The Result

The result: a clear set of recommendations to guide program development and implementation.

This comprehensive approach promises to help Wisconsin prepare its residents for high-demand careers in biotechnology, while ensuring employers have access to the skilled talent they need to thrive in a fast-evolving industry.