Cancer research at UVM’s Stafford Hall Lab Credit: Courtesy of Bailey Beltramo

A free workforce development program at the state’s flagship university aims to prepare Vermonters for work in the growing biotechnology field.

The new initiative, a partnership between University of Vermont Professional and Continuing Education and the Larner College of Medicine, launched earlier this month with 32 students. Funded by a $2.7 million federal grant secured by U.S. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), the 24-week course requires students to complete seven to 10 hours of online coursework and take part in one hands-on evening lab session at UVM each week.

“At a broad level, we’re teaching core skills that make a lab function,” said program director Gerry Herrera, an assistant professor of pharmacology at the Larner College of Medicine. Those include using equipment safely, documenting work and analyzing data, as well as specific techniques such as how to operate a pipette, prepare solutions and use a microscope.

The inaugural cohort is diverse — a mix of college students, people interested in changing careers, and those who stayed home with young children and are looking to reenter the workforce, according to Herrera. He’s working to develop relationships with local biotech companies to help participants find jobs after completing the course.

“The life science industry in Vermont is a fairly strong part of the workforce and the economy. And there is a large demand for highly skilled technical workers, and it’s hard to keep people in the fields,” Herrera said. “From an employment standpoint, there’s a need for having Vermonters who are coming into this path.”

The fall program filled up within hours of UVM sending out a press release about it, Herrera said, but those interested in participating will have another chance. Registration opens on October 28 for a second cohort that will start in January. Grant funding will likely sustain the program for the next three years, Herrera said. 

The original print version of this article was headlined “Biotech Training”

This article appears in The Tech Issue • 2026.

Alison Novak is a staff writer at Seven Days, with a focus on K-12 education. A former elementary school teacher in the Bronx and Burlington, Vt., Novak previously served as managing editor of Kids VT, Seven Days' parenting publication. She won a first-place award in education reporting from the New England Newspaper & Press Association and a third-place award in beat reporting from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. She's written cover stories about Vermont's childcare crisis, PCB testing...