Southbank TAFE sets up biotech course

Queensland's Southbank Insitute of Technology will offer a new vocational graduate certificate in applied biotechnology from next semester.

Southbank's Dr Richard Bowen said the training program would go a long way towards resolving the current education and training shortfall in regulatory compliance facing the sector.

"The Queensland Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Industry Forum (QPNIF) has been seeking more "hands-on" training in the sector and an extensive skills audit of training needs confirmed that more needed to be done," Bowen said.

"The new high-level accredited training program to be offered by Southbank Institute addresses the current and future requirements of industry sector enterprises and the community."

He said university science graduates finding it difficult to get work or promotion because they lack hands-on experience could now learn how their theoretical knowledge can be applied to a vocational context.

"By completing this new qualification, they'll be able to make themselves more competitive in the job market.

"We're hoping up to 30 people will enrol for the inaugural program and that will include up to 20 cadetships for those wanting a rewarding career in biotechnology."

The course will comprise three units. The first two focus on management of quality control processes in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and allied industries and involve 180 hours of work, 120 hours of which can be delivered in a relevant workplace.

The first unit entails defining quality and its relevant standards both in Australia and internationally, the management of data via LIMS, and the maintenance and co-ordination of quality documentation, including sample management.

The second unit involves hands-on skills in the use of equipment such as automatic titrators, spectrophotometers, atomic absorption and mass spectrometers, gas chromatographs, high performance liquid chromatographs (HPLC) and microbiological testing equipment and supplies.

The third unit requires students to apply advanced chemical processes to complex molecules. Students will extract biomolecules from starting material, purify biomolecules from extracts, detect and quantify biomolecules and identify and characterise isolated biomolecules. This 60-hour unit can be delivered in a relevant or simulated workplace.

Potential candidates for the qualification may be either science graduates with knowledge of chemistry or graduates of vocational diplomas in laboratory skills with five years relevant industry experience.

See www.southbank.edu.au for more.