Wilson Community College shares first look at training center
Final plans are taking shape for Wilson Community College’s Biomanufacturing Education and Skills Training (BEST) Center of Eastern North Carolina. The College recently revealed architectural renderings and a logo for the 29,600-square-foot center, expected to open in January 2027.
The training center, located in The Campus at 587 Industrial Park, will leverage the latest equipment and real-world learning experiences to prepare students for careers in the region’s fast-growing life sciences sector. Staffing for the center is expected to begin later this year, and a groundbreaking ceremony is planned for this fall.
The facility is funded by a $30 million investment from the North Carolina General Assembly, and the college also received a $13 million grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for the center.
As part of the state’s “mini budget” signed into law on July 30, Wilson Community College will also receive $10 million in one-time, nonrecurring funds for the center’s operating expenses. According to Wilson Community College President Jami Woods, these expenses include hiring trainers, faculty and a director to run the center.
Once operational, the center could eventually train up to 500 people each year, according to Rick Lawless, project manager for the BEST Center. This will include biotechnology classes for the college’s associate of applied science degree and BioWork certificate program as well as customized training programs tailored to the needs of local employers, many of which receive state funding for workforce development.
“This biologics training center will play a major role in assuring that life sciences companies in the region will have a reliable supply of skilled workers,” said Mark Phillips, vice president of statewide operations and executive director of the Eastern Regional Office for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
Skilling up for growth
The BEST Center responds to a clear regional need, as Wilson and the surrounding area have become a magnet for life sciences investment. The area is home to established life sciences companies like Merck, Purdue Pharma, and Fresenius Kabi USA and has recently attracted several other big investments, including Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, which is building a new biologics production facility there.
In addition, SCHOTT Pharma USA is building a new facility to manufacture pre-fillable syringes, IDEXX Laboratories is building a facility to produce its veterinary diagnostic products, and Believer Meats has completed a new cultivated meat production site.
To meet the needs of the broad set of bioindustrial and medical product manufacturers in Eastern North Carolina, the BEST Center will offer training in automated biomanufacturing, analytical chemistry, microbiology testing, maintenance of regulated facilities and equipment, quality assurance and regulatory affairs.
Future-focused job training
“We're aiming to teach all the technologies that current — and future companies — in our area are implementing, with the hopes of building a workforce that fills current needs and attracts new companies to Wilson County,” said Lawless. “Rather than focusing on just one technology, we’re designing the program to serve a wide range of industry needs.”
The training center will include classrooms and bench-scale labs as well as bioprocessing suites that replicate a manufacturing facility. Lawless says that students will learn how to use and develop modern electronic batch records — which capture all the data, steps and checks performed during the manufacturing of a specific product batch — alongside paper records. Likewise, training will cover both manual and automated equipment as well as distributed control systems.
As project manager, Lawless leads a technical team that includes representatives from Wilson Community College, North Carolina State University’s Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center, Johnson & Johnson, CMP Pharma and Pfizer. The team is working with the architect to design the rooms and laboratories and will soon select equipment for the center.
The BEST Center plans to be a regional hub for biotech education by working with nearby community colleges — including those in Nash, Edgecombe, Wayne, Pitt, Wake and Johnston counties — as well as universities like East Carolina University and NC State. It is also collaborating closely with the Wilson Economic Development Council and other workforce and community organizations to align training with industry needs, attract new investment and connect local residents to high-quality career opportunities.