Lief Labs launches Lief University
Lief Labs, a formulation and product development innovator and manufacturer of dietary supplements, recently announced the company has launched its Lief University Mechanical Foundations training program in partnership with Santa Clarita’s College of the Canyons (COC).
The Lief University continuing education program was created with assistance from COC education leaders who helped to identify program instructors and assisted with the curriculum development.
Vision
The program was the vision of Lief Labs’ CEO, Adel Villalobos, who said it has been a dream of his for some time. “He wanted to offer an educational program that invests in the people and provides them with increased skill sets to support them in their professional and personal journeys,” explained Bardia Eslami, VP of Engineering & Technology at Lief Labs. “With the help of COC’s Chancellor Van Hook we were able to bring this vision to life and develop a plan to continue to improve and expand this offering to more individuals.”
Curriculum
Eslami, along with John Alford, Senior Management Consultant of TBM Consulting Group, directed and executed the initiative and contributed to the program’s course development. Fourteen Lief employees will participate in the initial Lief University session, which will run over a 14-week period at Lief’s Avenue Paine headquarters.
The courses cover a range of skilled maintenance functions to provide the participating employees with valuable skills and knowledge to support them in career enrichment and advancement opportunities as supervisors and leaders at Lief. Participants will receive intensive instruction in areas such as tooling, print reading, tool applications, basic electrical, and hydraulics, among other key maintenance skills for positions including mechanics, leads, and operators.
Expansion
Despite having just launched the program, Villalobos already has his sights set on expanding to a larger training center at another of the company’s facilities to offer courses to the community and students outside of Lief’s employee base.
“I look forward to expanding Lief University in the future to offer these valuable educational opportunities to the community outside of Lief and help build a stronger skilled workforce, not only at our company, but for the broader Santa Clarita Valley region. As a member of the Los Angeles CEO council, it is also a commitment of mine to ensure our California workforce remains competitive and we create the right environment for businesses and communities to thrive.”
Eslami told NutraIngredients-USA that other areas Lief will focus on down the road are management training, English as a second language, leadership, lean manufacturing, technical encapsulation maintenance and operations, powder characteristic studies, maintenance levels 1-3.
“Lief and COC are partnering up to hold a graduation event on campus for all of the students who have completed the course. During this time the next layers of classes will be developed as we continue to scope out our training catalog,” said Eslami.
“By creating on-site training classes customized to companies’ specific needs, COC offers firms a competitive advantage in staying at the leading edge of their industries. As well, the instruction employees receive creates a pathway to other career-building learning opportunities at College of the Canyons,” noted COC Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook. “This is just the beginning, and we look forward to seeing how we can grow this program for the benefit of Lief Labs and their employees.”
