GTCC to launch new biotechnology program to train students for jobs in growing industry
GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Biotech is growing in North Carolina, and now one Triad college is stepping up to help train the workforce.
Guilford Technical Community College is launching a new program this fall to help students land jobs in the growing biomanufacturing industry.
GTCC leaders said that with biotech companies already growing in Guilford County, they say now is the time to build a local pipeline of skilled talent.
The program is designed to help students step directly into jobs like bioprocess technicians, pharmaceutical production specialists and quality control analysts in the Triad.
'We've got multiple companies that are currently in Guilford County and biotech … It's a growing field,' GTCC Dean of STEM Anne Simpson said.
The new Bioprocess Manufacturing Technology Program at GTCC is launching this fall.
Students will train hands-on in microbiology, cell culture and manufacturing processes, which are skills that match what employers are asking for.
It will span five semesters.
'It is an associate of applied science degree. The students who will complete the program will be able to enter the workforce and our biomanufacturing field,' Simpson said.
Companies in the industry are already operating in Guilford County.
'We have Galera, Syngenta, and a smaller one that we've worked with so far is BioGreen Synergy, and they do biofuel also,' Simpson said.
GTCC hopes their graduates will stay local after they graduate.
They're also working directly with companies to align coursework with their workforce needs.
'We have started our industry committee for the new program. and that allows the industry folks to be able to tell us what their needs are, and we can ensure our curriculum is meeting those needs … That can be from the actual curriculum. That can be soft skills that students need to develop while they're training with us and ensuring that as the technology changes, our curriculum changes to match those industry needs as well,' Simpson said.
GTCC is capping the first cohort at 24 students, and registration is now open for the fall semester.
While classes will begin on Aug. 14 in GTCC's existing biology labs, a new lab space is already in the works at the GTCC Center for Advanced Manufacturing on the Jamestown campus.
GTCC is also participating in a MentorLinks grant through the NSF.
The partnership will support the continued development of the new program.
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