State of Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship Program in Biotechnology - Dane County

Background Information

Since June, 1993, the BTC Institute has been actively involved in the development and implementation of the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship Program in Biotechnology, as administered by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). The BTC Institute assists in coordinating this two year program for high school juniors and seniors, which includes a 10-15 hours per week paid apprenticeship in an industry or university lab setting and specialized instruction, in addition to traditional high school coursework.

In October, 1993, the State Youth Apprenticeship Advisory Council officially approved the program, authorizing state funds to be released for curriculum development. Course outlines for all four semesters of specialized instruction were completed in December, 1994. The corresponding skill standards -- a set of duties and tasks to be completed during worksite experiences -- was developed with considerable input from representatives of industry, as well as of secondary and post-secondary educational institutions.

The content of the specialized laboratory-based course is designed to interface closely with the skills and knowledge necessary to participate effectively, as also reflected in the duties and tasks set forth in the skill standards. Curriculum materials for this course were revised in 2010, with the BTC Institute working closely with MATC on this project. (The official Biotechnology Youth Apprenticeship Program is available for purchase from DWD; a corresponding resource manual for teachers is available through MATC.) The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Skill Standards Checklist was revised in 2011 (see www.dcsc.org).

Originally coordinated locally through CESA 2 - Dane County and the BTC Institute, the program was launched in Fall 1994 with six Dane County high school juniors placed at biotechnology facilities in the area, including Hazleton Wisconsin, Inc., Promega Corporation and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As the program continued to evolve, the Department of Natural Resources,  EMD Chemicals, Harlan Sprague Dawley, Infigen Inc., Lake Mills Veterinary Clinic, Minitube of America, Mycogen Plant Sciences, Midstates Associates, Powder Ject Vaccines, Rhone-Poulenc,  and  PPD, Inc. have also served as work-sites. The list of UW-Madison Departments that have participated in the program includes: Agronomy, Animal Sciences, Bacteriology, Biochemistry, Comparative Biosciences, Entomology, Horticulture , Medical Microbiology, Oncology, and Plant Pathology, as well as the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, the UW Enzyme Institute, the UW School of Pharmacy UW-Biotechnology Center, and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center