The Texas Medical Center (TMC) and San Jacinto College (SJC) are teaming up to bolster Houston’s biomanufacturing workforce pipeline.
The two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding to better align student training and help meet growing demand for skilled technicians.
The agreement focuses on boosting student recruitment and enrollment in SJC’s bio and pharmaceutical manufacturing programs while expanding opportunities for hands-on training, career exploration and work-based learning. The partnership will also collect data to project the workforce needs of companies Houston hopes to attract, according to the Houston Business Journal.
“Houston is a premier global hub for life sciences and biotechnology, and the talent we need to advance therapeutic drugs, diagnostics, and cell and gene therapy is already here,” said William McKeon, president and CEO of Texas Medical Center, in a press release. “With more companies choosing to establish their headquarters in Houston and the daily breakthroughs happening across the TMC campus, partnering with San Jacinto College is an important step toward sustaining that momentum and unlocking even greater innovation and growth through the promising talent that already exists within our state.”
Building a Talent Pipeline for Growth
This partnership builds on Houston’s broader effort to strengthen its life sciences workforce.
In 2025, SJC opened the Center for Biotechnology at Generation Park, the only National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT)-licensed provider in the southern U.S. The center offers industry-grade training to prepare students for high-demand roles in biomanufacturing. This program ultimately helped attract pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly to Generation Park, where the company is building a 236-acre manufacturing facility expected to create more than 600 full-time jobs.
TMC’s BioPath program also plays a critical role by introducing high school students to careers in life sciences and biomanufacturing through hands-on learning, mentorship and career simulations. In just two years, the program has engaged more than 2,000 students.
As Houston continues to establish itself as a biomanufacturing hub, industry-academia partnerships like this one are crucial to building the talent pipeline the region needs to sustain that growth.
Learn more about Houston’s life sciences and biomanufacturing sectors.