Events
Bionetwork Capstone Center Hosts Industry Experts
RALEIGH, N.C. (December 7, 2011) - Industry leaders in biotechnology and life sciences gathered at the BioNetwork Capstone Center today to offer expert advice on specialized workforce training. The annual advisors' meeting brought educators together with the experts to discuss skill sets needed in the workforce and solicit feedback on current and future training needs. The Capstone Center is a state-of-the art biotech training facility, operated by a consortium of NC community colleges led by Wake Tech.
"We want to offer the very best, most relevant training for our students," said Capstone Center Director Ana McClanahan. "We rely on industry leaders to provide input on the type of training they need and the skills their workers must have to succeed."
Today's meeting included a cake to celebrate the 1,000th student served at the Capstone Center this year. The Capstone Center provides biomanufacturing and biopharmaceutical training for community college students, summer camps for middle school students, and customized training for companies such as Merck and Novartis. The North Carolina biotechnology and life science industries are thriving with over 500 companies employing 226,823 jobs across the state.
The Capstone Center features the region's most state-of-the-art aseptic suite for hands-on training in clean room processing techniques. It is located in the Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center on NC State University's Centennial Campus in Raleigh and is one of seven BioNetwork training sites across the state. It was started in 2005 with Golden Leaf Tobacco funds granted through the NC Community College System.
