The New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC), with support from Johnson & Johnson and other industry partners, today launched NJBioFutures, a workforce development coalition aimed at creating a sustainable, skilled talent pipeline to support the state’s rapidly expanding cell and gene therapeutics sector.
As part of this effort, Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC), Middlesex College (MC) and Mercer County Community College (MCCC), will provide short-and long-term training and certification programs on cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing, biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals. These programs will provide hands-on experience and prepare students for rewarding careers in an industry that is expected to continue its rapid growth.
Johnson & Johnson, as a founding sponsor of the coalition, is contributing $1 million to support the development of curricula and modernization of training and lab facilities on each college campus, including a 22,000-square-foot expansion of the Workforce Training Center on the RVCC campus in Branchburg.
According to Robert Asaro-Angelo, commissioner of the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development, “This program is about good pathways and good jobs. Employers do not have workforce development and training staff at scale, and [educators] do not have the workforce expertise at scale. So, this collaboration can bring us joint success.”
Asaro-Angelo alluded to the need for skilled workers in the state’s life sciences sector, describing how the number of life sciences worksites in New Jersey has grown by more than 50% in just five years (2018-2023). Meanwhile, sector employment grew by 18% and today stands at 127,000.
Aaron Fichtner, president of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC), said that NJBioFutures builds on the work of the council’s NJ Pathway to Career Opportunities initiative.
“We are in a moment of rapid social, technological, demographic and market change,” Fichtner said. “This pace of change calls for a shared commitment to action and new ways to move forward and work together. NJBioFutures will help students earn the degrees and credentials that are required by the life sciences industry. It is a new model of collaboration built around three amazing community colleges that brings together a wide array of partners aligned to build workforce pathways.”
“This collaboration is needed and inspiring,” said Joaquin Duato, chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson. “Our goal as a company is to [deliver] transformational medicines and medical technologies … and manufacturing is part of that, especially the specialized manufacturing that we are doing right here in Raritan with cell therapy or gene therapy.”
Duato said that working with the community colleges to develop the workforce of the future is vital, as students – future employees – will help J&J develop new medicines.
According to RVCC President Michael McDonough, the idea for NJBioFutures began when leadership at Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ manufacturing facility in Raritan (a J&J subsidiary) recognized it was going to have critical labor market needs. “Fortuitously, we all got connected,” McDonough said.
He added that other life sciences companies, all in the aseptic processing and biomanufacturing space, are part of the initiative. “This new facility [at RVCC] and the nature of the curricula allows us to respond almost immediately to whatever customized training industry needs,” McDonough said. “This relationship is both intimate and constantly evolving.”
Althea Ford, vice president of government affairs at the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, commented that NJBioFutures is a perfect example of what a public/private partnership can do when there is an environment in which businesses have the flexibility to influence and be creative with public institutions. “Together, they can adapt to provide the necessary skills and provide the human capital that industries need in order to grow,” she said.
Dr. Karen Bearce, provost, and vice president of academic affairs at RVCC, said that students who will be learning at the new space within the Workforce Training Center (expected to open in April) are enrolled in the Associate in Biological Science program and three programs where they can earn credentials in GMP and aseptic manufacturing. Meanwhile, Middlesex College and Mercer County Community College have related programs and will be introducing new ones.
“This has been a labor of love,” Bearce said regarding helping students find employment. “[Life sciences companies] have jobs available right now. As quickly as we can give them the skilled labor they need, they have positions available for students.”
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