Kaplan EduNeering and ‘Partnership for Learning’ Launch Online Training Programme for Next Generation Bio-Pharmaceutical Workers

Cutting Edge Biopharmaceutical Programme Addresses Key Skills Shortage

November 19, 2009 – Princeton, NJ and Liverpool, UK – Kaplan EduNeering, a leading provider of compliance and knowledge management solutions and ‘Partnership for Learning’, a unique training, conferencing and business resource, have launched a new online training program for pharmaceutical and medical device workers. 

The program, called Bio-Med Online, will improve the competitiveness of companies in the Northwest Territory of the UK and builds skills to attract potential new employers to the region.  Most important, it provides a training resource for workers that may have been displaced from economically distressed industries into the growth areas of pharmaceutical and medical device products.

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 skill 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."

“We are pleased to have been selected by ‘Partnership for Learning’ to collaborate on the impressive Bio-Med Online program, added Lisa Clune, President of Kaplan EduNeering.  The curricula that students will use has been developed specifically for life sciences employees, working in either manufacturing or regulatory compliance positions. Gaining competencies in subjects such as Good Manufacturing Practices, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Regulatory Audit Preparedness will benefit both individual workers and the companies that hire them.”

This online course library is designed for professionals within the bio-pharmaceutical companies located in the Northwest Territory of the United Kingdom, including those in quality, compliance, regulatory, manufacturing, management, and other key areas. The Northwest 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.

The training programme was developed by Kaplan EduNeering and the US FDA, under a unique Cooperative Research and Development Agreement that Kaplan EduNeering has maintained for the past ten years.  This same solution—technology and content—is used by the US FDA to train its 30,000 investigators and is now used by more than 100 life sciences companies with employees in more than 50 countries.

About Kaplan EduNeering
Kaplan EduNeering is part of Kaplan, Inc., a leading global provider of educational services to individuals, schools and businesses.  Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO). Kaplan EduNeering develops technology-enabled knowledge solutions for assuring regulatory compliance and improving business performance. Kaplan EduNeering is headquartered in Princeton, NJ, and has offices in Houston, TX, Bloomsburg, PA, and London, UK. 

About ‘Partnership for Learning’
Partnership for Learning is a unique training conferencing and business resource in South Merseyside, and was established when four of the area's major employers - Jaguar, Eli Lilly & Company and Novartis - decided to pool their resources to provide a high quality training, conference and meeting facility close to all four companies. The Pf L model set out to provide Merseyside with a world class training facility that would help to improve the competitiveness of existing companies and, by creating a workforce with relevant skills for today's market, to attract potential new employers to the region.

With the help of EU Objective One funding and backing from the North West Development Agency and Liverpool and Knowsley councils, they established Pf L in a purpose built facility on South Road, Liverpool L24 in March 2001.  Since then, Pf L's client base has grown to over 1,000 organisations and has provided training for over 10,000 people.

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