Press Release BIOPHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY GIVEN SKILLS BOOST

Press Release
BIOPHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY GIVEN SKILLS BOOST

A cutting edge biopharmaceutical course programme which is set to address a skills shortage in the North West has launched today.
Merseyside's leading training provider Partnership for Learning (PFL) in Speke, is offering a series of bespoke e-learning courses which are the first of their kind in the North West for biopharmaceutical and medical device companies.
The courses, which are delivered via the internet using an e-learning model, were developed by Kaplan Eduneering to meet the regulatory compliance needs of the biomedical industry. A major study carried out in Merseyside in 2005 identified a number of skills shortages, which can be addressed by targeted e-learning.
Topics on the programme which is called Bio-med online can take learners through batch records, GMP principles, IT validation, packaging, production, quality assurance, quality control and warehousing, and is fully compliant with MHRA and FDA requirements.
Ed O'Brien, Chief Executive at PFL, said: “Companies that make a commitment to their staff through skills training are going to be in a much better position to take advantage of the upturn in the economy over the next few months.
“The programme can be accessed at work or even from home – the flexibility means that skills training is even easier for employers to take advantage of.
“It may be that a company has new starters who need the extra help to develop, or even new teams or projects which might require a slightly different skills set to the one they had previously been working with – whatever the reason, new skills are always a benefit to both staff and the company itself.”
The North West is one of the UK's top locations for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. With over 200 biomedical companies and over 20,000 staff, the North West exports £3.4 billion of pharmaceutical products every year.
For more information on PFL, which is supported by the Northwest Development Agency, please go to www.pfl.org.uk or contact Jo Horgan on 0151 288 2125.

Training is available to employees at any North West site with less than 250 employees. The northwest is defined as:
Cumbria
Lancashire
Greater Manchester
Merseyside
Cheshire
ENDS
Notes to editors
• PFL is a unique training, conferencing and business resource in South Merseyside.
• With the help of EU Objective One funding and backing from the North West Development Agency and Liverpool and Knowsley Councils, PFL was established in a purpose built facility on South Road, Liverpool L24 in March 2001.

• For further information about this news release, please contact: Jo Bishop T: 0151 239 5000 M: 07818 593 551 bishop@paversmith.co.uk.