PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Wistar Institute received a $600,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation to continue its Biomedical Technician Training (BTT) Pre-apprenticeship Program, expanding access for Philadelphia adults seeking new career paths and for community college students preparing to enter the region’s growing life sciences workforce.
The grant allows Wistar’s Hubert J.P. Schoemaker Education and Training Center to sustain and broaden its pre-apprenticeship offerings. While the foundation has supported Wistar for nearly six decades, this is the first grant awarded specifically to the Schoemaker Center.
“Our established BTT Program, in its 25th year, has a proven record of providing the necessary foundational knowledge and hands-on lab training required for technicians and research assistants in the life sciences,” said Kristy Shuda McGuire, dean of biomedical studies at Wistar. “The BTT Pre-apprenticeship Program gives both community college students and adults an entry to pursue life-sustaining careers in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries in Philadelphia and beyond.”
Launched in 2000, the program began as a two-summer technician training track for community college students entering biomedical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical labs. In 2021, Wistar accelerated the structure to a one-summer format and expanded it to six regional community colleges. Additional cohorts now extend the program to adults with a high school diploma who want to transition into life sciences careers.
A separate National Science Foundation grant awarded in 2024 will support further expansion through 2027, adding community colleges in New Jersey and Delaware and bringing total program coverage to at least 10 counties across three states.
Participants receive foundational instruction followed by specialized laboratory training at Wistar and partner academic and industry sites.
“The BTT Program offers an accelerated pathway to careers that are of critical importance to life science organizations throughout the region,” McGuire said. “This funding from the William Penn Foundation enables us to continue offering the program and building a skilled workforce to strengthen the life science industry in our region.”
Elliot Weinbaum, the foundation’s chief philanthropy officer, said the investment aims to open more doors for Philadelphians seeking stable, well-paying jobs. “The Wistar Institute’s BTT Program opens doors to help people to access workforce training in the high-growth biomedical sciences sector,” Weinbaum said. “Through investments in programs like BTT, we are focused on strengthening the most promising programs that help Philadelphians to gain the skills they need for better-paying, family-sustaining jobs.”
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