At Northwood Technical College’s Superior Campus, classrooms and labs do more than teach skills; they help local businesses fill jobs and keep the workforce strong. Northwood Tech’s Workforce and Community Development team works directly with employers to address those gaps. Using the college’s existing courses and curriculum, the team helps companies upskill current employees, prepare new hires or provide essential safety and technical certifications through customized training.
“We provide customized training that keeps employees ready for their jobs, prepares new hires and makes sure businesses have the skilled workforce they need,” says Dan Miller, associate dean of workforce and community development. “When businesses succeed, communities succeed.”
Workforce Solutions That Fit
In May 2025, Wisconsin reported about 146,000 job openings and roughly 104,000 people looking for work, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means there are about 1.4 open jobs for every job seeker.
Douglas County faces an added challenge: nearly 20 percent of residents are 65 or older, slightly above the state average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As more experienced workers retire, industries across the region are feeling the pressure to replace and upskill employees.
That is where Northwood Tech steps in. Employers often begin by reaching out to the college for help with a specific training need. Dan Miller, associate dean of workforce and community development, sits down with their team, tours the facility, and brings in content experts – Including current instructors – to make sure the training is aligned to the company’s exact needs. The result is to create a solution that benefits the employer and equips employees with the right skills.
Those programs can range from welding and machine tool operation to CDL training, leadership development, or certifications such as CPR, basic life support and flagger safety. Training schedules, content and delivery are adjusted for each workplace.
Superior-Lidgerwood-Mundy Corp. is one example. Employees there receive welding and machine tool training designed to strengthen technical skills.
“We have been teaming up with Northwood Technical College for customized training and certifications in our welding department. Staff and instructors [at Northwood Tech] are very easy to work with and come up with the right solutions for our customized training and problem solving,” says Brent Hughs, plant manager at Superior-Lidgerwood-Mundy. “I would highly recommend them as a partner in workforce development.”
Douglas County staff take part in leadership and supervisory training customized for their department. “In collaboration with the [Northwood Tech] trainer, we were able to customize our leadership training to ensure our specific needs were met. She took time to get to know us and individualize the concepts of the training to our type of work. That is extremely important,” says Natasha Schmid, human resources director.
In transportation and energy, two industries vital to the region, Northwood Tech adapts its curriculum to highly specialized needs. At Jeff Foster Trucking, employees complete CDL and driver safety courses to stay skilled and safe. “Northwood Technical College has always been there for us in customized training in an industry that has very challenging schedules. With their help, we have been able to offer training from the ground up all the way to career improvement opportunities for our current team. We here at Jeff Foster Trucking highly recommend the Northwood Tech team!” says Jim Jones, general manager.
Enbridge technicians also train through Northwood Tech, completing flagger safety and machine tool programs tailored for hands-on practice with new technologies. “Northwood Tech was great to work with for a recent customized training,” says Andrew Kozelouzek, supervisor of technical services. “They [Northwood Tech] worked with us to understand our technical training need and developed a course tailored to our technicians. All of our techs finished the course and were impressed with the hands-on training.”
Meeting Regional Needs Across Industries
Other Superior-area employers have also partnered with Northwood Tech for targeted training in:
- Emergency Medical Responder
- Technical assistance, mechanical reasoning
- Welding and welding technical assistance
- CDL training
- Group Childcare Essentials training
- Welding
- CPR/AED/Basic First Aid
- Flagger safety training
- Machine tool training
- Basic Life Support
- Adult/Child CPR/AED
Northwood Tech extends partnerships beyond Superior, including communities in Minnesota and east toward Ashland. The college also delivers contract classes with the Superior and Northwestern school districts.
By equipping employees with technical skills, leadership knowledge and safety certifications, Northwood Tech helps local companies remain competitive, retains skilled workers in the Twin Ports and supports the regional economy.
Miller says, “The goal is simple: give businesses the tools to compete and communities the workforce they need to thrive.”
For more information on customized training partnerships, contact Dan Miller, associate dean of workforce and community development, at Dan.Miller@NorthwoodTech.edu
Mandy Dietrich is PR/Communications specialist at Northwood Technical college.
