The College of the Canyons Employee Training Institute (ETI) has received a $150,000 grant from the state Chancellor’s Economic and Workforce Development program to provide training services to more than 100 Boston Scientific employees in the company’s economically burgeoning neuromodulation division.

Through this project the college’s ETI will deliver a series of short-term responsive training sessions designed to help Boston Scientific reduce product development time, cut costs and increase productivity — while providing a boost to the local economy.

“The college has a long and successful track record of advancing the economic development mission of the California Community College system,” said Kristin Houser, ETI director. “With this grant we will be able to help Boston Scientific meet their corporate goals of developing and launching new products, while opening the door for potential job growth and economic expansion in the local and regional manufacturing industries.”

Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices that have significantly advanced the practice of less-invasive medicine. The company’s neuromodulation division, Boston Scientific Neuromodulation (BSN), is based in Santa Clarita, and is a leading developer of microelectronic devices that modulate nerve activity in order to treat disabling disorders, including chronic pain.

In late 2008, BSN received FDA approval on its 180,000 square foot manufacturing plant located in the Santa Clarita industrial center, which employs roughly 900 people.

“Boston Scientific is excited to partner with the College of the Canyons Employee Training Institute,” said Lorraine Munoz, BSN director of training and development. “This partnership will enable us to deliver high quality training to our employees that is focused on developing and enhancing the skills necessary to achieve our company’s mission. That mission is to benefit patients by improving current neuromodulation therapies and bringing disruptive new technologies to market.”

According to the research firm GlobalData, demand for implantable medical devices in the United States is projected to grow by eight percent per year through 2015. In Los Angeles alone, the industry employs approximately 39,000 workers and is the number one employment market for the industry in the nation, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics.

Growth in the neuromoduloation market is projected to be nearly triple that of implantable devices, as the size of the potential treatment population continues to expand.

The program will be delivered by the college’s ETI and consist of intensive training in project management skills, medical device software testing, electrotechnical quality standards, and computer aided product design. Training will be conducted at the Boston Scientific facility and at the college’s Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT).

Training services are scheduled to begin in fall 2010, pending passage of a state budget.

“It’s our goal to be a valued partner to businesses throughout the SCV,” said Houser. “Just as our client businesses have had to adapt to these challenging new economic times, ETI is also flexing and developing new training formats and topics in response to our clients’ many needs.”

For more information about the College of the Canyons Employee Training Institute please contact Kristin Houser at (661) 362-3245 or visit www.canyonsecondev.org.