BioMarin Pharmaceutical to receive $750,000 to train 815 employees
SACRAMENTO – The State of California’s Employment Training Panel announced that it approved 23 contracts worth more than $8 million in job training funds for 7,000 workers. The panel awarded a $750,000 contract to BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. to train 815 employees.
“The Employment Training Panel is proud to support industries that increase career opportunities for Californians, while also meeting employers’ needs for skilled workers that help to grow businesses,” said Stewart Knox, Executive Director of the Employment Training Panel.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical develops and commercializes innovative therapies and medications for patients with severe autoimmune, life-threatening, and rare genetic diseases, most of which conditions are often inherited, difficult to diagnose, debilitating and have few, if any treatment options.
Due to continued business growth, BioMarin Pharmaceutical will create new job opportunities for workers at their new manufacturing facility in Novato. The company also requires its workforce to have advanced technical skills as it nears deployment of its first-time gene therapy product for any type of hemophilia.
“BioMarin’s success in treating patients is possible through a highly-trained, highly-skilled workforce in California,” said Ken Sprague, Manager of Government Affairs at BioMarin Pharmaceutical. “The partnership and support from the Employment Training Panel is integral in our efforts to advance the standard of care for rare disease patients.”
The company will train its frontline manufacturing, engineering, and technical and management workers, which will include extensive research and analysis in biotechnology compliance, accompanied with live production procedures performed with a qualified lab trainer in a lab setting. Workers completing the training will be able to produce and manufacture products for sale, and will receive certifications to enable transferable skills throughout the biotechnology industry.
The Employment Training Panel is the state’s premier program supporting job creation and retention through training. The panel reimburses employers for the costs of training existing workers, funds training for unemployed workers to re-enter the workforce and helps to ensure California businesses have the skilled workers they need to remain competitive.
For more information about the program, please visit http://www.etp.ca.gov, or call (916) 327-5578.
