Abbott Medical Optics (AMO) wins $250,000 in workforce training funds.

Since 2005, Abbott Labs has received over $2.75 million in ETP funds for three principal manufacturing operations in the State. With manufacturing facilities located throughout California, Abbott Vascular, Abbott Diabetes Care, and Abbott Medical Optics are wholly owned subsidiaries of Abbott Labs, the 118 year old corporation whose principal business is the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. Each company is uniquely focused on improving patient care by combining the latest medical device innovations with world-class pharmaceuticals, investments in research and development and advancements in medicine through training and education.

The manufacture of Abbott products is a highly exacting and complex process due in part to strict regulatory requirements imposed by the FDA and other international/domestic regulatory bodies. To be successful, Abbott must have an experienced, well trained California workforce that can understand and follow specific quality protocols and manufacturing procedures, work efficiently, and contribute to the high work standards required by the industry. With ETP support, Abbot has trained over 2,000 employees in a spectrum of skills that include advanced technology, manufacturing, continuous improvement, business, management, and computer skills in an effort to achieve the following objectives:

• Improve “time to new product execution” a critical business initiative underlying AV’s core strategy.
• Standardize processes, procedures, and protocols to ensure the quality and reliability of AV products.
• Control product quality in design, development, testing, and manufacturing processes.
• Transfer product knowledge through-out the organization from the laboratory bench to customer sales and service employees.

The partnership between Abbott Labs and the State of California has been a resounding success. And, with support from Governor Brown the ETP program will continue to foster the growth of good, high paying bio-tech manufacturing jobs here in our Great State. In all training funding contracts approved by ETP so far, Abbott Labs has helped ETP meets its own strategic goals by attaining the following:

• Training was targeted to meet the need for a highly skilled workforce satisfying ETP’s mandate to foster job retention in industries threatened by out-of-state competition and for promoting the California manufacturing workforce.
• Training was designed to enhance the skills of frontline employees meeting ETP’s priority in supporting companies developing its workers’ skills and prepare them for challenges of a high performance workforce.
• The projects ensured that ETP funds were invested in an effort that targets high-wage jobs with good job promotional opportunities and above average retention. And, fostering the creation of high skilled jobs throughout California.