Community colleges of North Carolina and Massachusetts as workforce training institutions for innovative biotechnological business

Workforce training is one of the most essential, strategic goals for innovation development. In the USA this issue is pressing because of growing international competition. Recently community colleges started to play one of the most important roles in this process. They were chosen by regional authorities as a tool for workforce training aimed at satisfying demand of biotechnology companies. Of great interest in this respect are two major biotechnological states in the USA: Massachusetts and North Carolina. By the beginning of 2000-s the production volume of biotechnological companies in Massachusetts and North Carolina increased rapidly and they urgently needed trained workers. Besides, interstate competition in biotechnologies exacerbated the issue. In 2001 Massachusetts launched Building Essential Skills Training Program. There were 6 areas of workforce training including biotechnology. The results of the program were controversial: good scores of participants didn't lead to creation of comprehensive system of workforce training on the basis of community colleges. In 2003 North Carolina released strategic plan on prospective economic development of the state. The main point of it was job creation through development of biotech and workforce training for biotech industry in community colleges. GoldenLEAF foundation in NC helped finance this program and it resulted in establishment of BioNetwork. This network consisted of 6 centers of excellence throughout the state. Success of this initiative was determined by historical role of community colleges in NC. Long tradition of partnership with the industry and government control over management and budget of community colleges became key success factors. In 2004 non-government "Lumina" foundation launched federal program Achieving the Dream with the aim of improving curricula and organization structure reform of colleges in participating states. North Carolina joined the program in 2004 and Massachusetts in 2007. This program again drew attention of Massachusetts state government to community colleges. In 2009 Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick appointed R. Freeland to the position of Commissioner of Higher Education for Massachusetts. Freeland, in turn, initiated audit of all community colleges in state and developed general standards for college effectiveness measurement. Starting from that moment separate colleges have been transformed in complete system. In 2013 Governor Patrick signed the Massachusetts budget into law. According to the budget state community colleges changed their organization structure and would be governed by state government officials. This government control is much like of that in North Carolina. Massachusetts authorities followed NC and adjusted community colleges to workforce development system in order to satisfy the demand of their biotechnological business. Those measures of two states allowed them to remain leaders in biotech industry of the USA.

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