Life Sciences 2030 Skills Strategy: Are you fit for the future? Alex Felthouse Managing Director, Eisai and Chair of SIP Futures Group
SIP and MMIP Shared Vision Employers working in partnership with government to establish the skills needed to build a high value, competent scientific workforce to support future productivity and growth for British business.
Objectives Grow: To have a pipeline of skilled people with the capability, drive and ambition to build a thriving and globally competitive science based industry in the UK Retain: To support the development of the workforce to acquire the skills it needs to adopt new technologies and innovations Attract: To promote STEM careers and improve the value and understanding of scientific knowledge and skills, increasing the supply of home grown talent Thrive: To ensure there is a sustainable talent pool available to the Medicines Manufacturing sector to enable it to thrive in the future. 32,000 new recruits into the industry by 2025
Project Background
Introduction • Helping to deliver the Government’s Life Sciences Sector Deal 2 - identifying skills needs to 2030 • Building a clear evidence base of sector workforce to provide a forward- looking strategy for current and future skills • Collaboration between the Science Industry Partnership (SIP), Office for Life Sciences (OLS), Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and the BioIndustry Association (BIA) • Labour market intelligence , workforce assessment and skills research undertaken by Cogent Skills & Steer Economic Development • Publication date : January 2020
SIP Futures Group - representatives • Comprises key Life Sciences employers, trade associations, stakeholders and Government
Areas of Focus 2030 Strategy to consider key research themes in a matrix manner. Core workforce activities represented by vertical pillars against three cross-cutting horizontal skills issues.
Recent Stakeholder Workshop • Recent SIP Workshop with over 40 attendees from key sector employers, trade associations and training providers • In-depth discussions around the following topics: Digital skills : Acute skills gaps and shortages around data science, AI, machine learning, automation; Training provision : Inconsistent quality/content of degree level training across providers and apprenticeship model not working optimally for the sector; Concerns around security of flow of international workers post-Brexit . • Considered the following questions: What are the issues that need to be resolved? What would success look like? How might this be achieved? How would we know it is working?
Baseline Data and Emerging Findings
Life Sciences in the UK in 2018 Source: OLS (2019) Bioscience and Health Technology Sector Statistics
Routes into work in Life Sciences • More routes into the sector available using apprenticeship standards • Specialist apprenticeships available at Levels 2 through 7 (master’s equivalent) • Establishing a ‘parity’ of esteem with traditional, graduate entry routes • SIP Ambassador scheme to promote science career routes • Local SIP Groups in North East and Cambridge looking at regional skills issues
Science Industry Apprenticeships Apprenticeship starts within science companies (any subject) • Increasing levels of participation in apprenticeships, generally; • More new standards for science, small numbers, but increasing take-up. Starts on science apprenticeship standards 1,600 1,376 1,400 1,200 910 1,000 892 800 600 400 210 Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Force Survey 200 80 - 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2018/19 (to end Q2) (estimate)
Consultations – what is working (and what isn’t) Strengths Weaknesses • • Highly qualified workforce Traditional degree courses not meeting industry • Global centre of excellence for innovative research demands • • Sector responded well to apprenticeship reforms Digital skills not keeping up with technological • Large numbers of well established, experienced staff development • • Strong pipeline of talent from high quality Universities Apprenticeships lacking parity of esteem with • Big contributor to national GDP academia • Limited CPD, life-long training, re-skilling and upskilling Opportunities Threats • • Development of a strong, industry-wide CPD Uncertainty of Brexit/UK immigration policy • framework Ageing workforce, losing ‘time-served’ experience • • Better careers advice at all stages with clear pathways Lots of competition for staff within/from outside the • Greater industry input into training curricula sector • • Further growth of apprenticeship training models Disruption from new technologies – training for jobs • More collaborative working to improve exchange of that don’t yet exist • skills Traditional approach to recruitment, training and workforce development
Key Findings from the Workshop Issues that need to be resolved… • Low level of computing skills being developed within education, particularly at younger years; • Very strong competition for digital skills from other sectors, often paying higher salaries e.g. tech sector, finance; • Lack of awareness or careers or poor perception of the Life Sciences industry • Loss of expertise and skills with return of EU nationals to their home countries; • Requirement for an equal emphasis on manufacturing skills; • Retaining the brightest talent and ability to recruit from the global talent pool; • Small apprenticeship cohort means providers can’t always deliver • Localised gaps in provision stymie sector pipeline • Knock on effect as apprenticeships should be an effective route for diversifying workforce; • Lack of collaboration between employers/providers currently delivering science apprenticeships
Key Findings from the Workshop cont. How these issues might be resolved… • Mandatory computer science studies from younger age to GCSE • Universities/training providers to include data science within science courses • Stronger voice for employers in curriculum design • Better showcasing of career options into sector, particularly re digital skills • Leveraging sector benefit to human health to help improve attractiveness • Align apprenticeships with existing professional standards – e.g kite-marking for degree courses/apprenticeship providers • More support available to smaller employers to supervise, support and develop apprentices • More support for SMEs to overcome barriers/hidden costs of apprenticeships • Widespread use of the apprenticeship mode l for re- training/upskilling
Next Stages & Comms
Next Stages – Strategic Priorities • Detailed review of the findings from workshop – finalise evidence base • Labour force projection calculator to forecast workforce future growth by role level, training type & gender • Detailed analysis of availability of training provision for the sector compared with the forecast demand • Supplementary consultations to add further depth and clarity to findings • Next SIP Futures Group meeting – September Approval of strategic framework and key recommendations • Draft report October/final report December – online, interactive report published • SIP Life Sciences 2030 Skills Strategy Launch Event – Thursday 30 th January 2020 • Communications strategy underway generated strong publicity across key channels
Media Coverage
SIP and MMIP Shared Vision Employers working in partnership with government to establish the skills needed to build a high value, competent scientific workforce to support future productivity and growth for British business.
Life Sciences 2030 Skills Strategy and the MMIP
SIP and MMIP Working in Partnership • MMIP is represented on the SIP Board, bringing the medicines manufacturing voice • MMIP is part of the Futures Group and is actively participating in 2030 Skills Strategy • We are working together to develop recommendations for medicines manufacturing in the Strategy • Joint communications activities MMIP/SIP messaging
MMIP / SIP Sector Deal 2 Proposal Action Measure Proposal Increase in uptake of Medicines Analyse skills needs vs emerging We need to : Manufacturing Apprenticeships and further technology required for established education. medicines (small molecule, Mabs, (i) Prime the small molecule and complex medicine technologies of the traditional vaccines and therapeutic future. proteins) and complex medicines (ADCs, (ii) Bring industry together to determine short, medium and long term oliginuclotides, viral vectors and new demand for manufacturing training vaccines) manufacturing. (iii) Ensure training providers are aware of requirements, so that they may be strategic in their curricula development/offering. Having a clearly defined ecosystems will encourage training providers and industry to recruit and train strategically for the long term and for the interest of a sustainable future medicines manufacturing workforce. It’s about skills needed for new technologies (digital, advanced manufacturing, AI) in medicines manufacturing
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