Date Started
Fall 2025
Groups Served
Dislocated and underemployed adults returning to the workforce
Number Served
30 learners in initial cohort
Main Use Case
Construction bridge program using Transfr Train Pre-Employment Program
Jobs placed:
80% completion rate with students matriculating into Construction programs
Madison Area Technical College (Madison College) in Madison, Wisconsin, runs free workforce training programs for community members who are dislocated, underemployed, or re-entering the labor market. Many bring prior industry experience but need additional support to succeed in a formal college program. To prepare them for its Construction Essentials pathway, the college redesigned its bridge class around Transfr’s Construction Laborer Pre-Employment Program (PEP). The results: nearly 80% of learners completed the full four-week bridge, engagement stayed at 100% throughout every session, and the college is now expanding Transfr into new programs and campuses.
Workforce-ready experience, but gaps to bridge
Madison College’s School of Academic Advancement works with adult learners who are re-entering the workforce, changing careers, or building new skills after being dislocated from previous jobs. Some are experienced tradespeople. Others are professionals from different fields looking to pivot into high-demand construction careers. What they share is a need for structured support before jumping into a full college program.
“Our learners are people who are returning to the labor market or changing the labor market,” says Dr. Edith Minehan, an advisor in the School of Academic Advancement. “They need extra support to be successful.”
The college offers free, high-demand programs like Construction Essentials, the first semester of its construction pathway.
A simulation-based bridge that meets learners where they are
Transfr’s Construction Laborer PEP is a 20-hour multimodal program combining an online LMS component with VR simulations covering workplace safety, hand and power tools, and employment readiness. Dr. Minehan saw it as the right fit for the bridge class.
The bridge ran four weeks, Monday through Thursday, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Learners rotated between the online curriculum, VR simulations, and instructor-led support. The team layered in additional academic support, math review, and a construction glossary provided by Transfr. “We have a lot of control over the bridge class,” Minehan says. “So we can target the training to exactly what our community needs.”
Results that defied the norm
Bridge programs for this population typically lose about half their learners. These are working adults with families, jobs, and competing responsibilities. Showing up four nights a week for a month is a significant commitment. This cohort held: approximately 24 of 30 learners completed the full bridge, a retention rate close to 80%.
Just as notable was what happened inside the classroom. After about 10 minutes with the VR controls, learners were fully engaged and stayed that way. With only 12 headsets for up to 30 learners, the team had to put up signs reminding everyone to share. A construction veteran from Mexico breezed through the simulations but still found value: They helped him connect years of physical experience with the English terminology he needed. Even two learners who initially resisted the headsets because of past dizziness found the experiences worked for them.
“To have the retention be so high was very out of the norm,” Minehan says. “And to have a class that is on task 100% of the time is really not common. This was very exciting for the teacher and for us.”
“To have a class that is on task 100% of the time is really not common. This was very exciting for the teacher and for us.”
Dr. Edith Minehan, Advisor, School of Academic Advancement, Madison Area Technical College
A responsive partnership and plans to scale
Minehan credits the pace of the Transfr partnership as a key factor.. “I would say, ‘Hey, we need this right now,’ and it was done that moment,” she says. “The support you are able to give us is not very common in colleges or universities.”
The college is already planning next steps: a second construction cohort, an EMT bridge using Transfr’s health simulations, and expansion to branch campuses in Watertown, Reedsburg, and Fort Atkinson where there is no physical construction lab. “With Transfr, everything is in the headset,” Minehan says. “Learners can do the bridge anywhere, without the expense, the space, or the waste material.”
“With Transfr, everything is in the headset. Learners can do the bridge anywhere, without the expense, the space, or the waste material.”
Dr. Edith Minehan, Advisor, School of Academic Advancement, Madison Area Technical College
If your organization serves dislocated workers, career changers, or underemployed learners who need a strong start before entering a technical program, Transfr’s Pre-Employment Programs can help bridge the gap. Connect with the Transfr team to learn more.
