ACC Helps Local Company Receive Recognition, Results

Life Technologies recently was lauded by a leading manufacturing trade publication, and Austin Community College has reason to share in the accolades.

The bioscience company received Industry Week magazine’s “Best Plants” award for applying lean manufacturing practices at its Austin location, an endeavor enhanced by a partnership with ACC to provide training and certification coursework to company employees.

Through a Texas Workforce Commission Skills Development grant, ACC ‘s Corporate Training Solutions program provided a range of technical, management, and certification training that enabled more than a dozen Life Technologies employees to earn the Certified Production and Inventory Management designation. Another six employees identified projects to earn their Six Sigma Green Belt.

The workers have applied their knowledge to help Life Technologies save more than $15 million during the past year, results that will fuel expansion in the coming year.

Staff members have applied their knowledge to help Life Technologies save more than $15 million during the past year, results that will fuel expansion in the coming year.

“Austin Community College was an exceptional partner throughout the entire grant, from the initial needs analysis through the final reporting,” says Debra Thompson, Life Technologies Human Resources Site Lead. “Our employees were able to learn key concepts and immediately apply them to their daily work.”

Two factors made the training a success: the accessibility of the courses for busy employees and the quality of the customized, ACC-developed curriculum, Thompson says.

“The instructors pro-actively worked with me and my team to develop learning objectives, create case studies relating to our business, and implement mechanisms to ensure training objectives were met.”

Kathy Walton, Ph.D., executive director of ACC’s Corporate Training Solutions, says companies like Life Technologies benefit from ACC’s tailored approach.

“Our commitment and expertise in adult learning coupled with our pool of experienced instructors and training partnerships help us offer this kind of instruction at a fraction of the cost of other programs,” she says.

Corporate Training Solutions is part of the college’s Continuing Education Division. For more information about the program or to view a list of course topics, click here, or contact Walton at [email protected]

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