VGCC Sets 3 Sections Of BioWork Classes Spring Semester At Its Franklin Campus

Training for employment in the fast-growing biotechnology field will be held in three sessions during Spring Semester 2005 at Vance-Granville Community College’s Franklin County Campus.

The BioWork Process Technician Course will be offered on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and another session will be conducted the same days in the evenings from 6 to 10. These courses will begin Jan. 19, 2005, and end of May 11. A third section will be held on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning Jan. 22 and ending May 14.

All BioWork training is conducted in the state-of-the-art Biotechnology Lab at the campus on N.C. 56 west of Louisburg.

Enrollment is open to residents in the counties served by Vance-Granville Community College – Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin – as well as those in surrounding counties who want the training.

The 128-hour BioWork Process Technician course trains men and women for employment in bioprocess, pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing companies. Process technicians run the manufacturing processes in these companies, and the technicians are in high demand in this area and 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.

There is a $65 registration fee, plus $73.25 in fees for a book, insurance and parking. Students are required to have a high school diploma or GED. Interested persons may contact Gina Brewer at 252-492-2061 for more information and to pre-register for the course. Deadline for registration for fall BioWork Process Technician classes is Jan. 5.