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Forsyth Tech Community College Gary Green (l-r), U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, and Rep. Virginia Foxx tour a Science Skills Lab at FTCC on Tuesday, June 30, 2015.

In 2012, Forsyth Technical Community College received a $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help pay for its high-tech biosciences program.

That lab was on full display Tuesday for U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, and he found the work conducted there impressive.

“It’s fun to see so many people so motivated,” Perez said. “This is a great place. And it’s great to come here and see it.”

Perez toured the lab with U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th; Gary Green, the president of Forsyth Tech; and Michael Ayers, the college’s dean of math, science and technologies.

It was one of three area stops Tuesday for Perez and Foxx to see innovative workforce training programs in action. In the morning, they toured the electrical lineman apprenticeship program at the Northwest Forsyth Center in King operated by Forsyth Tech. The 6-8 week program gives students the necessary skills for entry-level positions in the utility industry.

In the afternoon, Perez and Foxx toured the apprentice program at Ameritech Die and Mold in Mooresville.

Forsyth Tech’s program at the Oak Grove Center on the main campus helped develop the nation’s first training standards in biosciences, according to officials. On Tuesday, several students showed Perez and Foxx experiments on which they were working.

Lori Byers, a Forsyth Tech student, said that the lab is an important part of her education.

“We get to work at our own pace,” Byers said. “It (the lab) really makes students step up to the plate.”

Students taking courses in chemistry, biology and biotechnology work in the lab, said Kirsten Williford, who teaches chemistry at Forsyth Tech.

Foxx praised the students’ work in the lab.

“I’m glad to see all of the innovation going on here,” Foxx said. “Forsyth Tech is leading the way.”

After the lab tour, Perez led a roundtable discussion with a group of Forsyth Tech officials, local employers and nonprofit organizations.

Perez said that community colleges such as Forsyth Tech are preparing students for high-tech jobs at local businesses, he said.

“You have done a great job to reinvigorate technical education,” Perez said to Green. “There’s a lot of interesting stuff happening here.”

Nancy Johnston, the executive director of the Piedmont Triad office of the N.C. Biotechnology Center, called for more federal investment in such programs as biotechnology program at Forsyth Tech. Her organization provides grants and loans to biotechnology companies and helps people find jobs in the biotechnology field.

“There are career opportunities for everyone,” Johnston said.

Forsyth Tech is preparing students for those jobs in the biotechnology field, Ayers said.

“We are very well-positioned to do that,” he said.

The city of Winston-Salem has moved from an economy based on manufacturing to one based on technology, Mayor Allen Joines said.

“There are opportunities within the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter,” Joines said. “We have a task force working on that.”

Joines was referring to a task force within the Winston-Salem Alliance, a nonprofit development corporation that works to brings jobs to the city. Joines serves as the president of the alliance.

The alliance’s goal is to transform Winston-Salem into a center for entrepreneurial development.

http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/forsyth-tech-students-show-off-high-tech-skills-in-biosciences/article_e0780872-1f8f-11e5-aead-4769ed178909.html