Executive Voices: An Op Ed Column

Growing Jobs
Our strategy to become a national biotech center is ambitious but achievable

By Norris Tolson

North Carolina has emerged as a leading place for biotechnology growth and development, creating jobs and improving our quality of life. Currently, biotechnology generates $3 billion in annual revenues in North Carolina and employs about 18,500 people. As a proud member of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s board of directors, I can assure you that this whole area of scientific development is growing at lightning speed and because of our long-term investments in the industry, North Carolina’s economy is poised to grow with it.

With intelligent investments in research, education and training, I believe there are 100,000 new biotechnology jobs for our people over the next 10 to15 years — a target well worth strong commitments from North Carolina leaders.

North Carolina has a proud history of being a strong innovative leader in both technology and business development. We will seize the biotechnology initiative and continue to improve our worldwide position as a leader in this industry.

In June 2003, Governor Easley charged the North Carolina Biotechnology Center with developing a long-term strategic plan to guide future state investments in biotechnology. He appointed a blue-ribbon steering committee co-chaired by former governors Hunt and Martin to help facilitate its success. To ensure a wide range of participation and diversity in the planning process, we assembled nearly 120 North Carolinians, including educators, business and government leaders, university and community college leaders, economic developers, and biotechnology experts from across the state to develop this plan.

The result is New Jobs Across North Carolina: A Strategic Plan for Growing the Economy Statewide through Biotechnology. The plan lays out an ambitious but realistic roadmap for moving the entire state forward in biotechnology development and recognizes our state’s urgent need to create new jobs and replacement jobs for those lost in our textiles, furniture and tobacco industries. The plan’s stated goal of 48,000 and 125,000 biotechnology-related jobs in North Carolina by 2013 and 2023, respectively, is aggressive but fully achievable.

The 54 strategies recommended by the plan will help us shape initiatives to take advantage of the technology and use it as a wealth and job creator for our citizens. Thoughtful people put enormous effort into developing an integrated roadmap on how to move from current efforts and position to a desired future state, which will bring huge results for our citizens.

As with any plan, the real work comes in execution. Our task is to develop credible action steps to bring these strategies into reality. This action plan will create new ideas for our biotechnology thrust. Our track record in North Carolina in working together for huge results is a strong plus for us in bringing home the wealth and jobs this great technology promises.

The plan affirms that biotechnology can and ought to be statewide in nature. Each of our 100 counties in North Carolina can bring unique strengths to the development and application of biotechnology, which will make it feasible for all of the state to share in the economic and social benefits of this technology.

We have great resources in North Carolina to bring to bear on this science — not the least of which is an abundance of very capable and trainable workers. Our commitments to education and worker training and retraining will help us take advantage of the strategic thrusts of our plan.

One of our state’s greatest imperatives is to create jobs for our citizens. Therefore, it is appropriate to stress the development of biomanufacturing, which will yield a large number of jobs as new drugs and other products come to market. We need to be more aggressive in educating and training workers to work in this industry. The manufacturing processes are complex and require different skill sets than most manufacturing jobs. We have taken a major step in this direction with the $64.5 million commitment from the Golden LEAF Foundation and industry on biotechnology training initiatives in North Carolina. No other state has this remarkable capability, which makes North Carolina able to provide a steady stream of qualified workers for its companies.

Our citizens need the jobs, and we can provide the training. Now we must become more aggressive in growing biotechnology start-up companies and recruiting business from around the world. To achieve this goal, the strategic plan suggests we must be more creative in financing and investment opportunities for young companies, as well as recruiting incentives and inducements for companies to come here. We will need to put more resources in the hands of key players, such as the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the universities, and the community colleges. Equally important, we must continue to aggressively fund the programs of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, which, seeds innovation and supports research, education, and business across the state.

The strategic plan is all about growth, collaboration, and investment. The bottom line, however, is that it’s all about bringing North Carolinians together around the exciting and very attainable goal of growing this industry in our state.

Norris Tolson of Pinetops is secretary of the N.C. Department of Revenue and a member of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center board of directors.