President George W Bush’s visit to a Community College in Charlotte underscores a key issue – the role community colleges are playing in helping retrenched workers find jobs again.

One dynamic initiative doing this is the North Carolina Community College BioNetwork. The BioNetwork is considered by the community college system to be one of the most important undertakings in recent years, and has as one of its goals the retraining of workers retrenched from traditional industries for the biotech industry. Because the biotech sector has been one of the few that has seen growth despite the economic downturn, its impact has been even greater. "One reason why biotech companies are relocating to North Carolina is because we will tailor specific work-force training for any company that opens a new plant in our state. Having a reliable, trained workforce at a new plant makes that plant productive and profitable much, much quicker," says Susan Seymour, Director of the North Carolina Community College BioNetwork. "Along with other advantages and incentives the state offers, the community college system will sit down with that company, and custom-design training for their workforce needs," she said.

Biomanufacturers have to meet exacting FDA standards, and without training in aseptic, clean-room and highly-regulated environments, it is almost impossible to find employment in this sector. Fortunately, many retrenched workers have discovered that their experience in the textile or furniture industry does give them a leg-up. These industries also operate in shifts around the clock and need workers with manufacturing experience. Coupling that previous work experience with biotech education and training at a community college has enabled displaced workers to find jobs in the biotech, pharmaceutical, cosmetic or life-sciences industries. Because the cost to enroll at a community college is minimal, and because this sector of the economy has shown steady growth despite the economic downturn of the past several years, it has been one of the few sectors to offer some hope to the jobless.

The Community College System – along with industry and the N.C. Biotech Center - has developed core education and skills training programs for the biotech industry. Partnering with industry has meant that community college curricula are geared for the workplace, so that graduates of BioWork, BioBusiness and BioQuality programs, as well as biotech-related curriculum programs - have both the background knowledge and workplace skills they need. With several of the world’s largest biomanufacturing plants located in North Carolina, these core programs were developed for these kinds of facilities.

A recent study by the N.C. Biotech Center forecasts that in the next three years, more than 6,000 jobs will be needed in North Carolina’s biomanufacturing firms, most of which will be technical positions, which require less than a baccalaureate degree. Community colleges across the state are providing certificate, diploma and Associate Degree Programs directly related to the biotechnology cluster to meet this job growth.

If President Bush’s proposals in North Carolina bear fruit, they will further enhance these existing community college initiatives and provide further impetus to them.

The North Carolina Community College System is the state’s primary provider of workforce education and training.

North Carolina is home to some of the world’s largest biotech companies – Biogen is the largest biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in the world, and is based in the Research Triangle Park; Novozymes has the largest industrial enzymes manufacturing plant at Franklinton; and Bayer has the largest blood fractionalization plant at Clayton.

Approximately 4400 people work in the biomanufacturing industry presently, and job growth has been continuous. The number is significantly higher if one adds biotech, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and other life-science related industry numbers.

North Carolina’s annual Biomanufacturing employment growth has been steady. In 2002, it was 7.2% and an estimated 2200 to 3300 new jobs are created annually in the state through growth at existing companies. This excludes jobs created when new companies relocate to N.C. or start-up.

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