Continued growth in North Carolina's biomanufacturing industry will require new employees with complex training and technical skills tailored to these highly regulated positions. Close to 2,500 new employees will be needed each year in biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries, while fewer than 200-300 workers are currently trained annually.

Our focus is on cultivating talent that will serve the full range of industry needs. The training and educational opportunities offered by BTEC are designed to prepare students and workers for jobs ranging from entry-level manufacturing operators to research engineers.

In an effort designed to orient potential workers to the industry, the North Carolina Biomanufacturing and Pharmaceutical Training Consortium (BPTC) developed descriptions and background information for six jobs that are essential to biomanufacturing:

Maintenance and/or Instrument Technician

Performs daily monitoring, repair, predictive and preventive maintenance activities on all production-related (process and critical utilities) equipment.

Process Technician

Responsible for executing steps in the manufacture of chemical and pharmaceutical products.

Quality Control Assistant/Associate

Performs chemical, microbiological, in-vitro or in-vivo biological assays and routine analysis of raw materials, in-process intermediates, finished products, stability samples, environmental monitoring samples, process and cleaning validation samples and packaging materials in support of pharmaceutical manufacture and clinical trial production in compliance with standard operating procedures, written test procedures, safety, FDA, cGMP and other regulatory body requirements and approved license requirements.

Quality Assurance Associate

Responsible for ensuring product quality and company compliance with relevant regulations, industry standards and internal procedures and policies by reviewing and approving GNW documentation supporting operations such as production, quality control and validation.

Process Development Associate/Scientist

Responsible for the development, optimization and transfer of new products and processes from R&D into manufacturing (laboratory-scale through pilot and manufacturing scale).

Process Engineer

Participate in the design, installation, start-up, operation, maintenance or ongoing improvement of biomanufacturing and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes and facilities.