Home News Archives Science VGCC Offers 3 BioWork Technician Classes Beginning in January at Franklin Campus

VGCC Offers 3 BioWork Technician Classes Beginning in January at Franklin Campus

Classes to train area persons for jobs in the growing biotechnology manufacturing field will be held on weekdays and evenings and on Saturdays, beginning in January at Vance-Granville Community College.

All classes are held in the modern Biotechnology Lab at VGCC’s Franklin County Campus on N.C. 56 west of Louisburg. Enrollment is open to residents in the counties served by Vance-Granville Community College – Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren – and to those in surrounding counties who want the training.

Day and evening classes for the BioWork Process Technician Course will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays, starting Jan. 18, 2006, and ending on May 15, 2006. Day classes run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and evening classes are from 6 to 10 p.m.

Saturday classes begin Jan. 14, 2006, and run to May 13, 2006, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The BioWork Process Technician Course prepares men and women for employment in bioprocess, pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing companies. Process technicians run the manufacturing process in these companies. Technicians are in high demand in area companies such as Novozymes in Franklinton, Revlon in Oxford and Iams in Henderson, as well as other areas throughout the state.

Training includes instruction and practice in quality control, mathematics and measurements, chemistry, process technology, process control, microbiology, cell biology and safety. Thousands of North Carolinians work in the state’s biomanufacturing industry today, and the demand for trained BioWork technicians is expected to increase over the next 10-15 years.

Total cost of the course is $138.25, which includes registration fee, books, insurance and parking. Students are required to have a high school diploma or GED. Persons interested in enrolling in one of the BioWork classes should contact Julie Kinlaw, Biotechnology training coordinator, at (252) 738-3632 by Jan. 6, 2006, to pre-register.

Those planning to take the weekday or evening classes should go to Room 306 on the Franklin County Campus on Monday, Jan. 11, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., or 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to fill out application paperwork and pay enrollment fees. Persons attending the Saturday course will fill out paperwork and pay fees on the first day of class.