Biotechnology programs at two-year colleges are responsible for educating many of the technicians who work in the biotechnology and life science industries. In the US, students from community college biotech programs have been hired at over 1374 locations.
Many InnovATEBIO college programs have industry advisory boards that help programs learn about and work with their local companies.
InnovATEBIO also works with state biotech trade associations to advocate on behalf of the biotech programs, faculty, and students, and make sure that companies know that InnovATEBIO programs prepare students for professional careers with opportunities for advancement.
If you work in the biotech industry and would like to get more involved in workforce education, please contact us.
Economic and Workforce Development
Economic and Workforce Development (EWD) is the process of steering economic stimuli in ways that yield thriving businesses and create job training and career opportunities for the community. At many community colleges, professional and technical education departments support local economic development by offering educational programs that help people attain new skills. Some community colleges also contribute to local economic development by renting space to small companies or allowing industry scientists use of their equipment. Other colleges have formalized these activities by creating incubators to house small companies or Contract Service Organizations (CSO's) to provide laboratory services such as media preparation or DNA sequencing.
Biotechnology Trade Associations
Trade associations
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) is a national trade organization that lobbies congress on behalf of the biotechnology industry. BIO has chapters in many states.
State trade associations work on state and federal public policies that encourage the growth of life science companies, support the development of a strong life science workforce, promote research and technology transfer at universities and other institutions, and help support commercialization of products.
These organizations provide members(e.g. industry, academia and workforce agencies) opportunities to network, collaborate, and save money through purchasing discounts. A state trade association’s ultimate goal is to help its state’s bioscience community fulfill its promise of economic opportunity and improved quality of life.
Why is it important to connect with industry?
Many community college bioscience programs develop their programs and curriculum with the goal of building the skilled technical workforce. It can be helpful for community college workforce education programs to reach out to their state trade associations for assistance in building, planning, or expanding a bioscience program. Trade association representatives are skilled when it comes to connecting people. By working with trade associations, college program directors can get help connecting with employers, especially larger employers. The best way to have a successful program is by engaging employer feedback on the design and implementation of a program. Many programs also have industry advisory committees that solicit employer feedback on curriculum development and modification.
Learn More
46 states have trade associations and other non-profit biotechnology organizations listed in this site.
View biotechnology trade associations and other groups by state.