Community Colleges and IndustryBand Together in Unique Ways

A c c o rding to Susan Seymour, BioNetworkDirector, North Carolina Community CollegeSystem, Raleigh—an organization that isincreasingly viewed as a national model for howcommunity colleges and industry can worktogether to solve workforce issues—attractingand keeping biotech companies means gettinginvolved in every step of the economic recruitingprocess. “We say to them [biotech companies],tell us who your workforce needs and your hiringschedule and we will have a pool of qualifiedcandidates.” BioNetwork brings togethercommunity colleges providing specialized

training for the biotech industry in Nort hCarolina with six specialized BioNetwork Centersto enhance capacity at community colleges tomeet industry’s needs. BioNetwork is alsoconcurrently developing programs to supporth o m e g rown entre p reneurs. Major goals ofBioNetwork’s member institutions include:

• Working with economic developmentrecruiters on issues such as site selection.

• Providing educational support forentrepreneurs who need help learning to runthe business side of their ventures.

• Ensuring that colleges are keeping pace withadvancing technology.

• Providing a pool of qualified workers.

B I O T E C H

RESOURCE LINEA NEWSLETTER TRACKING TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

Community Colleges, Industry Representatives Reveal Best Workforce Practices for Attracting and Retaining Biotech Companies

A report from theCouncil for Entrepreneurial Development’sBiotech 2006 Fifteenth Annual Conference Winston-Salem, North Carolina / May 22-23, 2006

Winston-Salem - The enormous task of training enough qualified workers for the biotech industry willrequire community colleges and industry, working side by side as partners, to develop new programs andconstantly adapt existing ones, experts confirmed during recent panel discussions organized by the NationalCenter for the Biotechnology Workforce, the biopharmaceutical company Targacept, and the regional NorthCarolina Biotech Center office, all based here in Winston-Salem. Educational programs will range from basictechnician skills for displaced manufacturing workers to short, specialized workshops for PhD holders—taught from a mobile laboratory at the company site, if necessary. Thanks to rapidly evolving research andtechnology, it is increasingly common for employees with master’s degrees and even doctorates to return tocommunity colleges for training and retraining—a kind of “reverse articulation,” observed Russ Read,Executive Director, National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce. The need for ongoing out-of-the-boxsolutions was evident during two panel discussions at the Council for Entrepreneurial Development NorthCarolina Bio 2006 Conference held here in Winston-Salem. Panelists from community colleges and industryshared best practices and innovative programs from around the nation. They also warned that communitycolleges alone cannot solve the biggest challenge facing North Carolina and all states in attracting biotechcompanies, that is, fierce competition from other nations. Panelists agreed that keeping elected officialsinformed about ongoing funding needs for training and reforms for community colleges and in K-12education will be crucial.

BIOTECH RESOURCE LINE

Continuous investment in cutting-edgeequipment for students is crucial, maintained BillWoodruff, Director, Southeast Regional Centerof Bio-Link, Alamance Community College,Alamance, North Carolina, where purchases haveincluded a 15-liter biore a c t o r. “We needtechnicians to walk into a laboratory and be ableto work from day one,” he indicated. Thecollege’s 21-year-old program, one of the oldestbiotech programs in the nation, has a 90%employment rate for its students, and employersare constantly asking for more graduates, headded.

Likewise, Alan Beard, Lead Instructor inBiotechnology, Forsyth Technical CommunityCollege, Winston-Salem, said that a new 17,000-square-foot facility with four dedicatedwet labs has been instrumental in training a largenumber of students who have enrolled in biotechprograms there. “All of our students are requireddo an internship, and we get feedback about theirperformance from our partner industries andorganizations,” Beard explained.

Ensuring that workers have the appropriatetraining is a special project taken on by BellevueCommunity College in Bellevue, Washington.Patricia Dombrowski, Dire c t o r, Life ScienceInformatics, informed listeners that Bellevue isleading a national effort to develop skill standardsfor biotech training programs. “We are trying toraise the bar and to infuse relevant training intocommunity college programs nationwide,”Dombrowski asserted. “We have held regionaland national focus groups, explored emergingbiotech jobs, and asked the companies to reviewand validate these standards.”

Keeping the US Competitive

A panel titled “Raising Human Capital: KeepingN o rth Carolina Number 1 in the BiotechWorkforce,” and moderated by Gary Green,EdD, President, Forsyth Technical CommunityCollege, evolved into a discussion of what notonly North Carolina, but also the United Statesas a whole must do to stay competitive inattracting and keeping biotech companies.

Michael Kamarck, PhD, Senior Vice President of Biotechnology, Wy e t hP h a rmaceuticals, Collegeville, Pennsylvania,

c o n f i rmed that large international companiesconsider nations such as Ireland, Singapore ,China and India alongside the US when lookingfor manufacturing sites. A huge part of theequation is the level of training of thew o r k f o rce—an area in which the US has achallenge to remain competitive.

“In Ireland, 80% of the population has a highschool diploma or the equivalent, and 70% go onto college because of the encouragement of theIrish government. For the public universities,there are no tuition fees and grants are availablefor living expenses for qualified students,”Kamarck told listeners. “The fact that they takethe education of the workforce very seriously hasallowed Ireland to transform itself in the area ofhigh-tech manufacturing.”

While schools in countries like India andChina focus heavily on math and science,American students may not be heavily exposed tothose subjects until high school or even college,Kamarck noted. “If we don’t bring math andscience into a child’s education at the beginning,we won’t be able to compete. You almost can’tbe too aggressive, and the next five to 10 yearswill be crucial.”

Finding qualified workers is the single biggestchallenge that smaller biotech companies face,stated Jan Turek, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Biolex Therapeutics, Pittsboro, NorthCarolina. Smaller companies such as his oftenre c ruit already-trained employees from larg e rcompanies such as Wyeth and GlaxoSmithKline,he said. In an industry where “an incorrect turnof a valve” by one employee can cost thecompany millions, it is imperative that employeeshave a firm grasp of reading and math.

One of the biggest challenges is educating thegeneral public about the nature of biotechnologyand what kind of training is needed, said JanetPaulson, Dire c t o r, National Center forAgricultural Bioprocessing and Renewable Fuels,Indian Hills Community College, Eddyville,Iowa.

Despite the presence of companies such asIowa’s Cargill Corn Milling Inc. and the fact thatthe state is a national leader in the production ofethanol and biodiesel products, “The majority ofpeople in the state still do not understand biotechand bioprocessing,” Paulson indicated. “We

42

BIOTECH RESOURCE LINE

work diligently on public outreach. We havegiven presentations to about 5,000 students inthe public school system. We also help support amobile science lab that visits schools and offersprograms for seventh through twelfth grades.”

Creative Partnerships

For their part, community colleges must partnerwith industry to keep the pipeline of qualifiedworkers coming, panelists stressed.

Colleges should be creative and open-mindedabout such partnerships, concurred RicMatthews, Dire c t o r, National Center ofExpertise in Bioprocessing Training, MiraCostaCommunity College, Oceanside, Californ i a .Although Idec/Genentech, a pharm a c e u t i c a lgiant in San Diego County, hires manyMiraCosta graduates, it was unable to meet thecollege’s request to fund a new training center.H o w e v e r, the company did fund a facultyposition and offered the time and expertise of itsarchitects and engineers to help the college buildthe center.

A unique apprenticeship program started byNew Hampshire Community Technical Collegehas been highly successful in training qualifiedworkers for biotech companies there, relatedSonia Wallman, Director of the college’sNational Center for Expertise inBiomanufacturing Training and Education.Students earning a two-year associate degree inbiotechnology from the college serve 1,000hours as paid apprentices for local companieswhile attending another 1,000 hours of classes.“The U.S. Department of Labor is now helpingus regionalize this program to other communitycolleges in the Northeast,” Wallman said.

Te rry McAdoo, Dire c t o r, Research and Development in Human Resourc e s ,GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NorthC a rolina, commented on his company’sexperience in the state. “R&D employment intheir research facility at the Research TrianglePark requires a minimum of bachelor’s, master’sor doctoral degree, but at our manufacturingsite, we hire community college graduates. Infact, we work closely with Wake Te c h n i c a lCommunity College’s program called thePharmaceutical Technology Program.” In-house,

GSK managers are encouraged to build challengeinto jobs and to proactively have fre q u e n tdiscussions with employees to ensure that thework is providing developmental opportunities.“ We encourage managers to provide care e rguidance and support by having pro d u c t i v ePDP/Development discussions with employees.In order to have a continuous pipeline, we haveto build relationships with the public schoolsthrough our Science Education Programs andthe local colleges and universities,” McAdoostated. GSK is trying to encourage minoritystudents in particular to enter the profession byp roviding opportunities like the ResidentialC h e m i s t ry Program visit, in which studentso b s e rve several days doing what a re s e a rc hscientist would do in the laboratory, a sort of “day in the life of a scientist.” The company alsos u p p o rts many programs like the AmericanChemical Society’s R&D Chemistry MentoringProgram.

The U.S. Department of Labor activelyencourages business and industry, states,community and technical colleges and the publicworkforce system to partner in the developmentof education and training programs, such as thismodel, said an official from the Department’sEmployment and Training Administration(ETA). The agency administers approximately $4billion that annually flow by statutory formula tostates and local communities for employment andtraining programs. ETA is demonstrating howleveraging workforce development funds with education, economic development andentrepreneurship are spurring innovative trainingmodels to meet the needs of the 21st-centuryworkforce and to keep America competitive.

The challenge of training workers for thebiotech industry is not going away soon, and it isc rucial that workforce development off i c i a l scontinue to understand the industry’s careeropportunities and skill needs, the ETA officialemphasized. “As long as the state and federalgovernment is providing resources for educationand training programs, it is up to you as industryleaders to understand how those resources arebeing used in your community, and to helppublic officials understand how those resourcescan support connections to career opportunitiesin this field.” ❑

4 3

BIOTECH RESOURCE LINE

© 2006 Medical Frontiers International Inc. All rights reserved. MFI Inc. is an independent medical news reporting service. This report is based on a meeting ofexperts held on May 22-23, 2006, at the Benton Convention and Civic Center, 301 West 5th Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. This report was provided byBiotechnology Workforce through an educational grant without conditions and under written agreement that ensures independence. No claims or endorsementsare made for any compound discussed which may be presently under investigation. This newsletter may be reproduced for educational purposes only. Informationprovided is not intended to serve as the sole basis for individual care. Our goal is to facilitate allied biotechnology workforce providers’ understanding of ongoingtrends in biotechnology. Your comments are encouraged.

Medical Frontiers International Inc., 301 N. Main St., #2207, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27101

4

O F F E R E D A S A S E R V I C E T O B I O T E C H N O L O G Y W O R K F O R C E

Date: May 22-23, 2006

Location: Benton Convention and Civic Center, 301 West 5th Street,Winston-Salem, NC 27101

PanelistsBill Woodruff, Director, Southeast Regional Center of Bio-Link,Alamance Community College, Alamance, NCAlan Beard, Lead Instructor in Biotechnology, Forsyth TechnicalCommunity College, Winston-Salem, NC*Patricia Dombrowski, Director, National Center for Expertise in LifeSciences Informatics, Bellevue Community College, Seattle, WAMichael Kamarck, PhD, Senior Vice President of Biotechnology,Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Collegeville, PAJan Turek, President and Chief Executive Officer, Biolex Therapeutics,Pittsboro, NC Janet Paulson, Director, National Center for AgriculturalBioprocessing and Renewable Fuels, Iowa Bioprocess Training Center,Eddyville, IA*Ric Matthews, Director, National Center for Expertise inBioprocessing Training; Dean, MiraCosta Community College,Oceanside, CA*

Sonia Wallman, PhD, Director, National Center for Expertise inBiomanufacturing Training; Director, New Hampshire CommunityTechnical College Biotechnology Program, Portsmouth, NH*Terry McAdoo, Director, Research and Development in HumanResources, GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NC

ModeratorsGary Green, EdD, President, Forsyth Technical Community College,Winston-Salem, NC* Susan Seymour, BioNetwork Director, North Carolina CommunityCollege System, Raleigh, NCRuss Read, Executive Director, The National Center for theBiotechnology Workforce, Forsyth Technical Community College,Winston-Salem, NC*

SponsorsThe Council for Entrepreneurial Development (www.cednc.org) The North Carolina BioSciences Organization (www.ncbioscience.org) The North Carolina Biotechnology Center (www.ncbiotech.org)

The National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce (*www.biotech-workforce.org) is the recipient of a Presidential High Growth TrainingInitiative Grant as implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor’sEmployment and Training Administration (www.workforce3one.org).

Excerpts from the Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s Biotech 2006 Conference

Two panels of highly acclaimed biotechnology workforce experts, together with biotechnology industry officials, discussed the challenges and opportunities that the biotechnology industry faces, including the growing demand for training and manpower.

From left to right: Russ Read, Erika Baum,Michael Kamarck, Terry McAdoo, Jan Turek.

Gary Green, EdD,President, Forsyth TechnicalCommunity College.

From left to right: RicMatthews, Stephen Johnson,Patricia Dombrowski, Russ Read.

4