"I care about the happiness of my employees," says Marie-Ève Lejour, owner of Savonnerie des Diligences , whose manufacturing laboratory is located in Bolton in the Eastern Townships. "For me, training my team in new practices is not a regulatory obligation, but it demonstrates the importance I place on their personal and professional development."

Integrate best practices

It is with this in mind that the business leader called on Cégep Gérald-Godin for customized training in good documentary practices and production quality assurance, offered in her soap-making workshop. “Training offered by external experts is better assimilated than if the directives come from the administration,” notes Andrée Roy, head of research and development. “They understand better why the standards are put in place.”Integrating good practices

It is with this in mind that the business leader called on Cégep Gérald-Godin for customized training in good documentary practices and production quality assurance, offered in her soap-making workshop. “Training offered by external experts is better assimilated than if the directives come from the administration,” notes Andrée Roy, head of research and development. “They understand better why the standards are put in place.”

The training has notably enabled the team to more easily trace inputs in the production process. “A supplier once recalled its baking soda because it had mistakenly included metal wire,” says Marie-Ève Lejour. “Thanks to our precisely written specifications, we were able to identify specific batch numbers and ensure that production was free of corrupted inputs.”

A training partner

Stéphane Kpadé is a training specialist at Jubilant HollisterStier (JHS) , a West Island pharmaceutical company that manufactures sterile and non-sterile commercial preparations. “I am one of the in-house trainers. Training is recurring and our environment is constantly evolving. We have to make sure that our employees are kept up to date with procedures.”

It is important to know that the regulations governing sterile injectables are particularly restrictive, he explains. “Their manufacture requires very specific aseptic behaviors. This is where we call on external expertise. In this niche, Cégep Gérald-Godin is the French-speaking reference in the Montreal region.”

Around a hundred JHS employees were able to benefit from training from Cégep Gérald-Godin's business services on good aseptic practices and behaviors in a sterile environment. "The seven-hour training concerned engineers and laboratory specialists as well as production and maintenance employees," explains Stéphane Kpadé. "It was set up specifically in relation to our specific needs to raise staff awareness of specific actions."

A regulated industry

Aulos Silva is a trainer specializing in the pharmaceutical industry at the Continuing Education and Business Services department at Cégep Gérald-Godin. “It is essential for companies in this industry to be up to date, because they are subject to specific standards and regulations issued by Health Canada. With procedures that are constantly evolving, managers must ensure that their employees are trained periodically.”

These training courses are also intended for manufacturers of cosmetic, veterinary, biological, biotechnological and natural health products. They cover good practices in pharmacovigilance, the ABCs of investigation, quality control and the corrective and preventive action system, complaint management and risk management. "The issues related to the lack of development, maintenance of production equipment or reliability of documentation can be fatal for the company's reputation and customers/patients. Neglect of hygiene practices can lead to product contamination. A lack of staff hygiene can, for example, cause microbial contamination of products."

Accurate assessment of needs

While Cégep Gérald-Godin has specialized in pharmaceuticals for about fifteen years, it offers business services (SAE) to other industries. The Montreal institution offers training in the following areas: administration, management and accounting, office automation, cannabis production and processing, early childhood education, French, computer science and information management and security.

In business, in virtual mode or on the premises of the CEGEP, the training courses at Cégep Gérald-Godin are the result of a precise assessment of the company's needs. From May 4 to June 22, 2021, the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) pharmaceutical workshop is offered in a new individual format rather than in groups. Simply contact services.entreprises@cgodin.qc.ca or register on the online reservation platform.