5 Georgia Technical Colleges Form Bioscience Training Partnership

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Five Georgia state technical colleges have formed a partnership to recruit and train workers for the state’s bioscience industry. Supported by Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Gwinnett, and Valdosta Technical Colleges, the Georgia Bioscience Technology Institute (GBTI) will leverage existing community and industry partnerships to develop a statewide collaborative training network -- sharing curricula, resources and best practices to develop this skilled workforce.

“By aligning these institutions, workforce development and industry, we have laid the foundation for supplying the bioscience industry in Georgia with the workforce it needs, both today and in the future”

GBTI targets three regions of the state with high potential for training dislocated workers for the bioscience industry: the Innovation Crescent (a 13 county region from Atlanta to Athens), the Bioscience Circle of South Georgia (an 11 county region surrounding Valdosta) and the Augusta Bioscience Hub (five counties surrounding the Augusta area). This expansion leverages existing bioscience workforce investments by Georgia’s Work Ready Regions, a program of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development, and a $1.9M federal grant in 2007 to Athens and Gwinnett Technical Colleges, which launched the GBTI.

“By aligning these institutions, workforce development and industry, we have laid the foundation for supplying the bioscience industry in Georgia with the workforce it needs, both today and in the future,” said Georgia Bio President Charles Craig. “This partnership demonstrates Georgia’s strengths in working collaboratively and in working smarter in today’s economic climate to efficiently and effectively bring new training programs online.”

“Georgia Work Ready Regions were created to link education and workforce development to the state's economic development and ensure our state delivers a pipeline of skilled workers ready to take on today’s work and tomorrow’s innovations,” said Debra Lyons, Director, Governor’s Office of Workforce Development. “By linking together bioscience regions, the GBTI partners will drive growth and ensure Georgia offers a competitive advantage.”

To fund this expansion, the GBTI institutions have submitted a collaborative proposal to the U.S. Department of Labor with the backing of community partners, including 26 bioscience employers, six Regional Workforce Boards, the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and Georgia Bio.

This grant would enable three of the college partners (Atlanta, Augusta and Valdosta Technical Colleges) to initiate bioscience certificate and associate degree programs to meet their region’s bioscience workforce needs while increasing capacity of the existing bioscience programs at Gwinnett and Athens Technical Colleges. If funded, GBTI will begin expanded operations July 1, 2010.

Georgia Bioscience Technology Institute was initiated as a collaborative effort between the Biotechnology Program at Athens Technical College and the Bioscience Program at Gwinnett Technical College to prepare workers for the exciting Life Science industry. For more information, visit www.gabioscience.org.

Georgia Work Ready was launched in August 2006 by Governor Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce to improve the job training and marketability of Georgia's workforce and drive future economic growth for the state. By identifying both the needs of business and the available skills of Georgia's workforce, the state can more effectively generate the right talent for the right jobs. For more information, visit www.gaworkready.org.

Georgia Bio represents nearly 300 pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, universities, research institutes, government groups and other business organizations involved in the development of products that improve the health and quality of life people worldwide. For more information, visit www.gabio.org.

The Atlanta Regional Commission is the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency for the 10-county area (including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties) and the City of Atlanta, dedicated to unifying the region's collective resources to prepare the metropolitan area for a prosperous future. For more information, visit www.atlantaregional.com.

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning is a national non-profit organization which creates and manages effective learning strategies through partnerships with employers, higher education, the public sector, and labor. For more information, visit www.cael.org.

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HHS Announces Plans to Make $80 Million Available to Support Health IT Workforce

Grants Will Support Community College Training Programs, Curriculum Development, Additional Programs to be Announced in Coming Weeks

Dr. David Blumenthal, HHS' National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, today announced plans to make available $80 million in grants to help develop and strengthen the health information technology workforce. The grants that will be made available include $70 million for community college training programs and $10 million to develop educational materials to support these programs. Both programs will support the immediate need for skilled health information technology (health IT) professionals who will enable the broad adoption and use of health IT throughout the United States.

Authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the grants are the first in a series of programs to help strengthen and support the health IT workforce. Additional details regarding the grant programs for these and other key resource and training areas will be
announced over the next several weeks.

"Ensuring the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), information exchange among health care providers and public health authorities, and redesign of workflows within health care settings all depend on having a qualified pool of workers," Dr. Blumenthal said. "The expansion of a highly skilled workforce developed through these programs will help health care providers and hospitals implement and maintain EHRs and use them to strengthen delivery of care."

The Community College program will establish intensive, non-degree training that can be completed in six months or less by individuals with some background in either health care or IT fields. Participating colleges will coordinate their efforts through five regional consortia that span the nation. Graduates of this training will fill a variety of roles that both assist health care practices during the critical process of deploying IT systems and support these practices on an ongoing basis.

The curriculum development program will make high quality educational materials available to the community colleges so these training programs can be established quickly to meet these workforce needs.

Any U.S. non-profit institution of higher learning currently engaged in providing training in health IT that is interested in drafting curriculum or establishing a consortium that includes community colleges may apply for the grants. Information about grant applications will be
available shortly at http://healthIT.HHS.gov/HITECHgrants.

"Critical to achieving the goal of the Heath Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and supporting meaningful use of health IT is the availability of a skilled workforce that understands the unique technology and management needs within a clinical setting," added Dr. Blumenthal. "These newly funded programs are designed to equip the most qualified and advanced IT workforce in the world with the tools they need to modernize our health system."

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Recession Blues? Six Certifications You Can Earn in Six Months

/PRNewswire/ -- For those facing unemployment, the idea of retraining for a new career can seem daunting--especially for adults who don't have the luxury of attending a two- or four-year college. America's career-training institutions can offer hope, though. Here are six careers you can become certified for in six months or less:

Computer Technician: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that careers in the IT field will increase by 27-53% by 2016. In fourteen states, ComputerTraining.com offers accelerated, classroom-based courses to prepare students for Microsoft Certification (MCP, MCTS and MCSA) in six months.

Medical Careers: According to the Department of Labor, Medical Assistant is one of the fastest-growing fields in America. Training programs to become a Medical Assistant, Dental Assistant, Medical Billing Technician or Phlebotomist vary in length depending on certifications, starting at eight weeks.

Culinary Arts: Schools now offer training in classic culinary techniques and pastry arts in as little as six months.

Cosmetology: Courses have evolved beyond one-year courses in hairstyling and now include shorter, specialized courses beyond hairstyling, including accelerated courses for manicures, facials, or makeup application.

Massage Therapist: A massage therapy education is typically based on hours, rather than weeks or months, of experience. Most students are ready for the exam in as little as 300 hours and certified after 1,000 hours--about the equivalent of six months of full-time work.

Pharmacy Technician: Pharmacy Technicians can receive on-the-job training, but employers favor candidates who have completed a formal education and certification process.

Jerry Collins, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ComputerTraining.com says he's already seeing an increase in inquiries. "As the recession has spread, we've seen more and more people looking for new career choices, rather than simply waiting for an old job that might never return," he said. "Even people who have earned college degrees for their former jobs are retraining for opportunities created by changing technology."

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