GREENVILLE—Pitt Community College held a ceremony Tuesday to recognize nine students for successfully completing its most recent round of pre-hire training for Thermo Fisher Scientific.

The customized training program was offered through PCC’s Career Services & Workforce Development Department and took place July 11-14 and July 18-19. Course content was selected, revised and approved by Thermo Fisher officials to cover OSHA regulations, math for manufacturing, documentation best practices, working smart, resume creation and job interview skills.

"Thermo Fisher has hundreds of jobs to fill over the next couple of years," said PCC Industrial Training Coordinator Sheila Ormond. "The program offered at the PCC Greenville Center this month was the ninth pre-hire that we have completed for them. They believe in this program, and it is helping fill those positions, which include operators, formulation technicians, packaging technicians and visual inspectors."

Ormond said the federally-funded training is part of Pitt’s effort to develop a skilled local workforce and was established through a partnership between the college, Thermo Fisher, Rivers East Workforce Development Board and the Pitt County NCWorks Career Center. She said the goal is to introduce prospective Thermo Fisher employees to the kind of work done by the Greenville biotechnology company in the hope it will reduce employee turnover.

"It gives Thermo Fisher an opportunity to see that the students are serious about employment with them by completing six full days of training," Ormond said. "As a result, students are guaranteed an on-site interview here at our PCC Greenville Center Annex the same day they complete the program. They use our computer lab to complete a Thermo Fisher application and send ‘thank-you’ letters to their interviewers."

Ormond said PCC is planning to hold Thermo Fisher pre-hire training sessions once a month "for the foreseeable future." In order to participate, students must be at least 18 years old and searching for employment.

Another participation prerequisite is the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), a portable, nationally-recognized credential that lets employers know jobseekers possess critical skills needed in the workplace. The NCRC identifies an individual’s skill level in applied math, workplace documents and graphic literacy.

PCC offers NCRC testing by appointment only. For information, prospective students may call (252) 493-7592 or email [email protected].

The next round of Thermo-Fisher pre-hire training will be offered Aug. 15-18 and Aug. 22-23. To enroll, text "THERMO" to NCWorks at (252) 549-4545 or visit the Pitt County NCWorks Career Center on Bismarck Street in Greenville.