Kite is also a member of the BioHub Maryland Pathways’ Workforce Task Force, which is sponsored by the Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board and the Maryland Tech Council. Maryland Tech Council’s Workforce Task Force The collaboration will start with Hood offering a new cell therapy course in 2023, co-taught by Kite team members. The new lab is part of Hood’s Hodson Science and Technology Center and will be a central component of Kite and Hood’s collaboration to build a strong cell therapy workforce pipeline in Frederick County. Kite and Hood are also partnering to integrate new cell therapy-focused classes into the college’s curricula. Kite has created an innovative collaboration with Frederick, Maryland’s Hood College to build a new, state-of-the-art, 400-square-foot lab replete with cutting-edge tools planned for the near future. She stated, “There’s been a lot of learning on both ends, but it’s just been an amazing experience.” Hood College’s New Cell Therapy Track Kite’s program participant and Cell Therapy Specialist Apprentice Sydney Walton has been working with FCC to build and execute the new program. Apprentices also are assigned a mentor and a direct supervisor so that they receive the necessary guidance and instruction to enable a successful apprenticeship. Kite provides apprentices with the opportunity to participate in the exciting area of cancer immunotherapy and gain experience in cell therapy manufacturing activities in a cGMP manufacturing environment. Program participants receive a certificate of completion from the Department of Labor at the end of the program. Apprentices receive a combination of paid on-the-job training while studying towards their associates degree, fully-funded by the program. Kite’s cell therapy apprenticeship is a two-to-four-year long program that provides qualified students with the opportunity to jumpstart a biotech career while pursuing a college education. In addition to Kite’s participation in Frederick Community College’s (FCC) highly successful Biotech Bootcamp, the company has also partnered with FCC and the Maryland Department of Labor to create a Cell Therapy Apprenticeship Program. Frederick Community College’s Cell Therapy Apprenticeship Program Kite’s new local workforce development partnerships aim to expand the talent pool and include Frederick Community College, Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, and the Workforce Taskforce. RELATED: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Kite a Key Facet of Frederick Manufacturing Site’s Work Culture It’s so important to grow talent organically and for Kite to work with local biotech training programs at colleges, community colleges and other organizations where students can learn the theoretical and unique operational aspects of working at a facility like ours,” stated Trushar Agrawal, Senior Director, Head of Manufacturing at Kite’s Frederick facility. “The demand for CAR T-cell therapy is growing and we will need new talent to support production so patients can receive their treatments rapidly and reliably. As the BHCR adds more and more companies in cell and gene therapy, medtech, and traditional biopharma, the pool of talent to support this growth will need to add depth, breadth, and diversity as well. Maryland already has a solid workforce development infrastructure in place with programs like BioTrain and Bio-Trac at Montgomery College Frederick Community College’s Biotech Bootcamp program The Biomedical Careers Program (BCI) and the Maryland Technology Internship Program (MTIP) at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Kite’s very own Early Talent Program.īut there is always a need for more targeted and robust workforce programming to support a biocluster region that’s growing by leaps and bounds every year. This ongoing, long-term commitment is a win-win for Kite and the community investing in workforce programs will support Kite’s plans to attract, retain and develop talent and the community and economy will benefit from the 400 plus jobs Kite will bring to the state by the end of 2022. Kite’s goal is to augment existing workforce development programming and to help the region continue building a thriving life sciences workforce. Kite has committed to building strong partnerships with the local community across an array of key constituencies, including workforce development initiatives at local universities and life sciences support organizations. Kite’s choice to plant roots in Maryland has been a boon to the economy and the region’s life sciences ecosystem.
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