(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following: (1) Biotechnology represents one of the most promising, innovation-based growth industries of this era. California is the nationâs leading state in biotechnology innovation and production. (2) The San Diego region, as the worldâs third largest biotechnology industry cluster, is host to world-class generators of science and technology in biotechnology and the related life sciences. (3) Despite the specialized nature of emerging biotechnology firms, their recent growth has been extensive, and with that growth has come an ever-increasing demand for trained biotechnology workers at all levels. The industryâs workforce has grown at an annual rate of about 15 percent over the past five years, and Californiaâs biotechnology workforce could easily grow to over 250,000 by the year 2015 from its current level of 100,000. (4) Biotechnology employers need entry-level and advanced professionals that have a background in, and familiarity with, industrylike conditions for basic, applied, and translational research, development, and production. Based on recent studies, there is a clear and strong demand for applied bioscience training, but that demand is currently not being met by the regionâs universities and colleges. (5) Companies nationally have overwhelmingly endorsed an âindustry-focusedâ approach of providing internship training programs directly with the companies, combined with âcompany-likeâ training activities. (6) Many firms have identified the difficulty in finding entry level biotechnology workers at both the graduate and undergraduate levels as being directly related to the studentsâ lack of applied industry training or exposure. Many firms have had to extensively train new employees to teach them how to function in a biotechnology business environment. Additionally, nearly three-fourths of firms surveyed in San Diego and nationally have indicated that they would benefit from being able to hire workers that have been prepared to enter the workforce through advanced biotechnology internships and training of a âspecificâ nature. (7) San Diego and the surrounding area is served by many well-recognized academic institutions, from community colleges to universities offering doctorate programs, that supply educated workers to the biotechnology industry. At each academic level (AA, BS/BA, MS/MA, Ph.D.) curricula are in place, but most of the curricula are only marginally related to biotechnology workforce preparation in the applied sector. Applied education in the form of internships or instruction in practical science skills that would smooth the transition from academic institutions to the commercial biotechnology environment is even less prevalent than the biotechnology curricula offered at many schools, and is only now just emerging. (8) Many of Californiaâs firms have found that many students graduate from four-year university programs with adequate conceptual understanding of biotechnology, but with relatively little practical laboratory experience, especially in the skills and protocols that are specific to commercial ventures as opposed to academic research. (9) In 2001, the Legislature created the Pasadena Bioscience Center to address biotechnology workforce needs in the Los Angeles region. The Pasadena Bioscience Center provides applied workforce training and includes components for research and innovation, new business incubation, and bioinformatics. In cooperation with California State University, the City of Pasadena, Pasadena City College, the California Institute of Technology, Huntington Medical Research Institutes, and local biotechnology companies and organizations, the Pasadena Bioscience Center serves as a successful model of focused education and training, tailored to specific industry needs, and that may be utilized in other areas of the state. (b) The Legislature further finds and declares that to address workforce needs in biotechno
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