BioNetwork's yes we can attitude gives a boost to the state's life-science cluster; Training and other innovations developed at North Carolina's community colleges produce the talented work force sought by biotech companies.

• Position: Company overview

No CEO or plant manager can deny enjoying hearing the words, "Yes, we can," from employees. The same is true for life-sciences industry calls for training and other help from the professionals at the N.C. Community College System's BioNetwork. Many of BioNetwork's staff are industry veterans whose can-do attitude toward the challenges faced by life-sciences companies continues to garner statewide and national attention.

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The attitude mirrors that of Dr. Scott Ralls, the community-college system's new president. "Community colleges in North Carolina are and have always been about jobs, and BioNetwork excels at supporting our industry partners by rapidly responding to the needs of the life science industry with training and education programs for their workforce," Ralls says. BioNetwork is a statewide initiative that coordinates the delivery of specialized training to develop a world-class life-sciences workforce. All community colleges serving the sector are a part of BioNetwork. In addition, six BioNetwork Centers with statewide responsibilities develop curricula and offer train-the-trainer workshops for new technologies.

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The community-college system has provided life-sciences training for more than 20 years. Alamance Community College started the country's first biotechnology associate degree in 1985. "If it wasn't for North Carolina getting behind the community colleges, the state wouldn't be where it is today," says Bill Woodruff, its biotechnology department head. Wake Tech offered the first industrial pharmaceutical-technology associate degree. Southeastern Community College recently became the first to offer an associate degree in agricultural biotechnology.

This leadership also is apparent at other BioNet-work colleges. Forsyth Tech's nanotechnology program prepares students to characterize and fabricate materials for biological, textile, chemical, and electrical applications at the atomic level. Coursework includes manufacturing-engineering technology and advanced nanotechnology. The program prepares students for engineering, manufacturing and medical R&D jobs. Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University, recently attested to the program's value. "[Institute officials] have a terrific partnership with Forsyth Tech. We have 12 students from the biotech program, and we truly couldn't do what...