c3bc Background:
The Community College Consortium for Bioscience Credentials (c3bc) is a multistate consortium of 12 community colleges engaged in an educational and training initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Labor under grant TC-23761-12-60-A-37. Under the c3bc, 12 Community Colleges nationwide coordinate to support the following strategies to assist grant participants to obtain employment in high-wage, high-skill occupations, such as biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and medical devices:
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Harmonize a set of core skills across the biosciences and embed stackable and latticed, industry-recognized credentials into training for biosciences jobs that will create career pathways for TAA-eligible and other displaced workers.
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Improve and expand recruitment, testing and aptitude assessment for trade-impacted workers in tandem with the public workforce system. This will help fill industry demand for biosciences workers.
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Expand and improve the delivery of education and career training programs at the Community College level. Accelerate completion time in certificate/credentialing programs through improved assessment of prior learning, focused support services, the removal of institutional barriers and development of technology.
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Build community college capacity for biosciences education and training that meets local, state and national employer needs across subsectors of laboratory skills, biomanufacturing and medical devices.
The Consortium’s primary focus is meeting the education and training needs of TAA-eligible and other displaced or job-threatened workers and getting them on career pathways to sustainable employment in the biosciences. It starts from a shared belief built over years of cooperation with local partners that laboratory skills are industry foundations. Thus, by mastering these laboratory skills, TAA-eligible and other displaced workers will have an avenue for re-employment in the fastest-growing subsector of the biosciences industry.