Lawson State and Skills for Success Launch Biotechnician Program

Lawson State Community College is partnering with Alabama's Skills for Success to offer a free, non-credit BioTechnician program. A limited number of slots for the course open up this month.

The first group of students, expected to begin in late May, will help Lawson State and Skills for Success pilot the program and its online self-paced modules. Those self-directed courses, which must be finished first, are designed to prepare students for the hands-on experience they will gain during additional required in-person labs. The labs will be facilitated on Fridays and Saturdays on the Birmingham Campus of Lawson State.

The pilot labs will be facilitated by subject matter experts and students are expected to learn various aspects of the biotech field. Some of the knowledge areas include PPE, sterilization, mixture preparation, terminology, and more.

Overall, the program combines flexible, self-paced online learning with hands-on lab training to deliver a well-rounded introduction to the biotech field.

Strong job growth for biological technicians

Nationally, there continues to be a need for people who are well-trained in the field. Employment of biological technicians, who generally assist biological and medical scientists with laboratory tasks, is projected to grow by about 7 percent through 2033. That is faster than the average for all occupations, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

An average of 10,300 openings for biological technicians are projected each year, nationally, according to the DOL. Many openings may result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or retire.

Learn more at TrainForAlabama.com or bit.ly/Lawson-biotech.