Class begins in June at BCCC or Pharmacy Technician Basic Skills Plus program | Eastern North Carolina Now

For Immediate Release:

   Class will begin in June at Beaufort County Community College for students who would like to complete their high school equivalency at the same time as preparing to enter the job market as a certified pharmacy technician.

   BCCC is seeking applicants for the program, known as Basic Skills Plus, through which students enrolled in General Educational Development, or GED, courses at BCCC will also be enrolled in a Pharmacy Technician Certification course at the college.

   Classes will be Mondays and Wednesdays beginning June 4 and ending Aug. 30 on the BCCC campus.

   A PharmTech Human Resources Development class will be conducted from 6 to 9 p.m., June 4 through 27. This instruction will give students the chance to earn their Career Readiness Certification, a credential often required or preferred by prospective employers.

   Basic Skills and PharmTech classes will be held from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m., July 9 through August 30.

   Teachers of these classes will work together to give students context-based and career-focused instruction that will prepare students to pass both the GED and Pharmacy Technician Certification exams. Class work will include dosage calculations, intravenous flow rates, drug compounding, dose conversion, dispensing of prescriptions, inventory control and reimbursement procedures.

   Most fees and costs associated with this program will be waived or paid through scholarships. Students will be expected to buy the PharmTech textbook, available at the BCCC Book Store before the first night of class at the expected cost of $70.

   Once students receive their GEDs, they will have specific job-related skills that will allow them to immediately enter the work force as certified technicians rather than having to wait for job-specific classes after they have completed their high school equivalency work, according to Laurie Weston, BCCC’s Basic Skills coordinator.

   This is the second Basic Skills Plus curriculum offered by BCCC. The first class of students is currently scheduled to complete its GED and Certified Nursing Assistant I program in July. Since 2010, BCCC and some 34 other community colleges have been approved to offer Basic Skills Plus programs that prepare students in some 85 different career pathways.

   The program works by providing employment skills, job-specific occupational and technical skills, and developmental education, if needed, to students enrolled concurrently in a GED program.

   To register for the class or for more information, interested persons should contact Laurie Weston at 252-940-6322 or Penelope Radcliffe at 252-940-6325 in BCCC’s Basic Skills Department