VGCC BioWork Sessions Add Classes At Franklin Campus To Meet Demand

Vance-Granville Community College has added two new sessions this fall to meet the demand for the BioWork Process Technician course at its Franklin County Campus.

Classes will begin Aug. 18 and already both daytime and evening sessions held on Mondays and Wednesdays have filled up, according to Garland Elliott, director of Economic Development Services. “So we have added sessions that will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, both during the day and in the evenings,” he said.

The daytime classes will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both days, and the evening classes will go from 6 to 10 in the state-of-the-art Biotechnology Lab at the campus on N.C. 56 east of Louisburg.

In addition, there are a handful of slots remaining in the Saturday session that runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning Aug. 24 and ending Dec. 14.

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

Training consists of 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 Elliott said the demand is expected to increase dramatically over the next 10-15 years.

There is a $65 registration fee, plus a $65 book fee for the course, and students are required to have a high school diploma or GED. Interested persons may contact Gina Brewer at (252) 738-3324 for more information and to pre-register for the course.