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| For Release: IMMEDIATE | Contact: Norman Smit |
| Date: June , 2004 | (919) 807-7181 |
NCCCS BioNetwork Anchors Delegation to BIO 2004
RALEIGH
: North Carolina is sending a strong delegation with many years of biotech experience to San Francisco for BIO 2004 and it is anchored by the Community College System’s BioNetwork. NCCCS President Martin Lancaster, who is an invited speaker at the convention says, "BIO 2004 is important to North Carolina. It’s the largest gathering of biotech companies anywhere in the world. Last year at BIO 2003, our delegation had a very productive time and many companies visited the North Carolina pavilion. We’ve already had calls from prospects interested in North Carolina."Susan Seymour, the Director of NCCCS BioNetwork and a veteran of economic development in the state said that after BIO 2003 a number of prospect companies visited North Carolina.
"We’re seeing jobs in North Carolina as a result of the work done there. And with the huge boost that Golden LEAF has given BioNetwork, we’re in an even better position to supply pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing companies with the specially-trained workforce they need to open plants in North Carolina".Biomanufacturing is where the bulk of the employment opportunities are in biotech and North Carolina is already in the top three states in the country in this field. These are well-paid jobs and require people to have been trained to work in a highly regulated environment. Two thirds of the positions in biomanufacturing are trained at the community college level, which is why the community college system
’s BioNetwork is attending BIO 2004. "Industry leaders have told me that one of the things that gives them sleepless nights when they consider where they are going to locate a plant is finding qualified, trained workers to man that facility", says Seymour. With BioNetwork linking the 15 community colleges already training people for the biotech industry, and the wealth of biomanufacturing experience in the state, we’re hoping to attract other companies who are about to begin manufacturing new products," she said.President Lancaster, who is a speaker at BIO 2004, will be addressing similar issues. Being an invited speaker is recognition of North Carolina
’s pioneering role in utilizing its community college system to develop a world-class workforce and he will be speaking to delegates during an afternoon session entitled "Growing BioManufacturing Locally". Parts of his address will touch on the way in which people who had been retrenched from the IT, furniture and textiles industries and who have been trained at community colleges offering courses such as BioWork, now have jobs in the biotech industry. Community College Associate Degree biotech instructors say that the hire rate for their biotech students is close to 100%. People who have completed BioWork - a 128-hour course with a high level of hands-on training - are being employed as process technicians, in warehousing, as manufacturing associates, as materials handlers, quality control technicians and a number of other positions.President Lancaster and Susan Seymour will be part of a delegation that includes staffers from the NC Biotechnology Center, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, industry, the University of North Carolina system and community colleges offering biotechnology as part of their curricula. North Carolina will have a strong presence and its exhibit in San Francisco is 60% larger than last year. Fifty different organizations from across the state will participate. Michael Crossin, who heads the delegation from the Department of Commerce, says that the NC pavilion was designed to showcase the state
’s significant biotechnology capabilities. If all goes to plan, by the time BIO 2004 is over, North Carolina could be extending those capabilities further.For further information, contact:
| Susan Seymour | Released by: | NCCCS BioNetwork |
| NCCCS BioNetwork Director | Norman Smit | 5003 Mail Service Center |
| (919) 807-7155 | NCCCS BioNetwork Marketing Director | Raleigh, NC 27699-5003 |
| seymours@nccommunitycolleges.edu | smitn@nccommunitycolleges.edu | (919) 807-7181 |
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