"This is a very important program for the state of New Jersey and the many medical device/pharmaceutical industries within the Garden State. As an employer in Bergen County, it has become increasingly more difficult identifying trained technicians to staff our quality control and operations departments. New Jersey is the home state for the pharmaceutical/health care industry and as a result, competition exists for “industry” trained technicians. A certified technician program from Bergen Community College should provide employable technicians to the New Jersey health care industries.”
Steve Mottola, Vice President, Genzyme BioSurgery, Ridgefield New Jersey
“As Vice President of Technical Affairs for Quest International Flavors & Fragrances, I directed a large number of technical staff, including quality assurance, product safety and regulatory personnel to serve food and cosmetic industry clients. Conformance to GLP requirements was absolutely essential yet there was not a single community college in the state that provided the required training to the young people seeking a career in quality assurance. Most of the training was acquired on the job. It must be noted that more than 90% of the Flavor & Fragrance companies essential to cosmetic and food products manufacturers are actually based in New Jersey and contribute substantially to the state economy. I have carefully reviewed Bergen Community College’s Quality Assurance Certificate Program and believe that it would serve New Jersey’s biotechnology industry and its GMP workforce extremely well."
Dr. H. Rahman Ansari, Ph.D., President, MRIC
“As Director of Toxicology at Schering-Plough, part of my responsibilities was to assure that all staff was properly trained in GLP requirements. From that experience, I am a strong advocate of the Quality Assurance Certificate Program at BCC. In the heavily regulated pharmaceutical industry that is a large part of the New Jersey economy, proper training in Quality Assurance principles and procedures is an essential step in developing a staff and a corporate culture that are committed to quality and the proper documentation of that quality. Training at the college level, in a program that is not directly conducted by specific employers, will give students a broad appreciation of the benefits of thinking and acting on the principles necessary to assure quality performance, and will make those students more generally employable than those with similar technical training but no training in Quality Assurance."
Thomas Davis, DVM, Ph.D.
“I have been involved in the health care for forty years. First as pharmacist attorney defending the industry, then ten years in the Federal Government starting in the FDA and ending in the Office of Drug Abuse Policy in the Executive Office of the President. From there I spent my time in the Medical Device, Pharmaceutical Industry in senior level positions responsible for Quality and Regulatory programs. I have seen the effects of poor training first hand as my area of focus is crisis management correction. Too often problems arose because of lack of proper basic knowledge at the technician level due to improper training. I believe this program will go a long way towards mitigating this type of issue. While self study courses are available from national organizations they are no substitute for student involvement with professional instructors."
Ernest Caribillo, Esq.
“As Director of Quality Assurance for Instrumentation Laboratory (IL), I can certainly support the contention that the Quality Assurance Certificate Program is a valuable program. Within the In-Vitro Diagnostics manufacturing, quality control and quality assurance disciplines the need for GMP and GLP trained personnel is a constant factor. In general, an applicant with such a quality certification (even without specific skills) would be significantly more likely to be employed for entry or minimal experience required positions, than an applicant without."
Joel Lipset, Director of Quality Assurance for Instrumentation Laboratory (IL)
"There is a continuing need for people who understand the fundamentals of quality control and quality assurance in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology food, nutrition and environmental sciences industries…. The BCC program will educate the next generation of students who will take over critical quality positions in these industries. The program covers the core issues and competencies required to manage quality in today’s highly monitored industries. A global pharmaceutical company like Schering Plough continually seeks skilled quality assurance people whose education, training and experience allows them to manage and lead quality control, assuring continuing quality and quality improvement efforts in its commercial manufacturing, clinical supply, and research and development operations."
Eugene E. Reilly, Manager, Pharmaceutical Sciences Quality, Pharmaceutical Sciences department of the Schering-Plough Research Institute
