Demand for Talent: Current & Projected Workforce Trends in the Life Science Industry a report of the Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI)

Transcription

1 Demand for Talent: Current & Projected Workforce Trends in the Life Science Industry a report of the Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI) and Booz & Company

2 Two of the most pressing questions for the life science industry today are where are the jobs? and where are the jobs going to be? In collaboration with Booz & Company, the Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI) is unveiling a first ever in-depth national analysis designed to provide insights into the most pressing current and projected workforce needs in our industry. This introductory analysis begins to articulate the demand for the most critical talent, training, and skill needs of the life science industry today, and will help inform the actions that key stakeholders should take to ensure that we are preparing the talent pipeline to meet demand three years out. The CSBI intends to institutionalize this annual data collection and analysis to include maximum participation from our industry. We expect this ongoing analysis to be of tremendous value to legislators who administer workforce training funds, educators who are preparing the next generation of talent, and to companies who are making strategic business decisions. TREND ANALYSIS Using the Burning Glass platform 1, trend analysis across jobs-related web sites shows that the life science industry continues to be an engine for job creation at all levels of education and across multiple disciplines, with particular need for entry level technicians and managers with advanced experience, especially in regulatory and compliance functions. 1 Life Sciences Job Postings in the U.S. 2/2012-2/2013 (n=64, 334) Medical And Clinical Laboratory Technicians Chemists Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists Medical And Clinical Laboratory Technologists Biologists Clinical Research Coordinators Manufacturing Engineers Quality Control Analysts Regulatory Affairs Specialists Biochemists And Biophysicists Quality Control Systems Managers Microbiologists Manufacturing Production Technicians Biostatisticians Validation Engineers Chemical Technicians Statisticians Clinical Data Managers Compliance Officers Biological Technicians Regulatory Affairs Managers 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 Figure 1: A national picture of job postings between 2/2012 and 2/2013 by occupation clusters. Total jobs posted was 64,334. This graph represents only the top posted occupations.

3 Chemistry Clinical Research Validation Biology Experiments Good Manufacturing Practices (gmp) Clinical Trials High Performance Liquid Chromotography Biochemistry Good Clinical Practices (gcp) Laboratory Equipment Product Development Regulatory Affairs Data Management Life Science Skills Most Frequently Idendified (64,334 Job Postings) 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 Figure 2: Skills most frequently listed in the 64,334 national postings identified in Graph 1. There is a total of 200 occupations listed in this report. The hard data were supported by interviews of senior industry strategic leaders including CEOs, heads of research and development, commercial development, human resources and manufacturing 2. Need for Flexible Knowledge Workers The qualitative interviews revealed that the life science industry is continuing to experience job growth, with a particularly strong need for knowledge workers. The need for knowledge workers shows up in four distinct ways: 1. Substantial need for employees with baccalaureate and advanced degrees 2. Need for high school-only graduates when the graduates can receive industryspecific training from their employers 3. Advanced /specialization degrees, such as bioinformatics, biostatistics and computational biology, as well as engineers with the ability to manage complex biological process scale-up, are in exceptional demand 4. Industry - and experience-specific job skills in disciplines such as Regulatory and Quality Systems continue to be in short supply Degree Requirements Listed (US Life Science Postings) 5% 12% 20% 14% 49% Bachelor s degree High school Graduate or professional degree Post-secondary or associate s degree Unspecified Figure 3: Information on the education requirements listed in identified US job postings demonstrate that almost half of the postings that list a degree requirement specify Bachelor s degrees, and a surprising number accept candidates with high school diplomas. 2 Booz & Co. interviews of 25 LS industry executives (March-April 2013)

4 Hiring managers and industry leaders profiled their workforce-related capability needs into three categories: 1. Didactic skills and baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate training in life science disciplines such as chemistry and biology, a finding also supported by the analysis of job postings 2. Orientation towards the life science industry, with a clear understanding of industry-specific ways of working, such as compliance with FDA regulations, sixsigma and zero-defect quality systems and assurance in product development and manufacturing, and the design and execution of rigorous clinical studies 3. Soft skills and the ability to work across disciplines The second category refers to an increasing complexity of knowledge and art required to be sufficiently oriented in the life science industry. The workforce capability skill set required to be welloriented was made forcefully by a hiring manager who discussed the need for individuals with skills ranging from scientists to sales force who can help us fulfill our mission in personalized healthcare where the capability needs are complicated and span 12 broad departments and 36 capability sets. Capabilities framework Biomarker Discovery Disease indication and biological pathways know-how Ability to select disease indication for biomarker mining and unmet needs Access to appropriate sample banks/specimen library Regulatory Regulatory approval and post-marketing compliance understanding Execution of clinical validation studies Biomarker Identification Required Technical Capabilities Biomarker Measurement Access to high throughput Access to diagnostic tools for biomarker detection technologies identification Computation skills for Computational skills to algorithms to evaluate identify biomarker multi- parameter signals signatures Business development & Business development & licensing of appropriate licensing of biomarkers detection technology Pricing, Reimbursement & Billing Knowledge of pricing comparables and Dx reimbursement infrastructure Relationships with public and private payor organizations Collaboration with IVD governing authorities Pricing/Reimbursement negotiations Assay & Instrument Development Required Commercial Capabilities Manufacturing Sourcing capabilities and vendor management expertise QA/QC operations IVD assembly Analytical skills to set performance characteristics of assays Assay optimization techniques and processes Engineering skills to design and develop automated instruments with integrated sample preparation Analytical Validation Evaluate assays (accuracy, precision, limit of detection and linearity) Develop protocols for endpoint assessment Develop processes for sample collection and handling Commercial Ops. & Demand Satisfaction Supply chain management Dedicated medical consultants HIPAA compliant reporting Clinical Validation Clinical development skills to design small pilot studies Data management databases for data collection and evaluation Marketing & Sales Understanding of promotion and sales of IVD products in the market Managed market contracting experience Experienced sales force Figure 4: Booz & Co Personalized Medicine (PMx) capabilities framework used as a deepguide during interviews. Business Development Technical knowledge to screen technologies Existing deal history Deep understanding of industry acquisition dynamics and multiples Ability to extract value from deal and efficient execute a PMI Source: Booz & Company Analysis Copyright 2012 Booz & Company

5 The Importance of Soft Skills The complexity of required baseline industryspecific orientation is likely not a surprise. But the need for soft skills and the ability to work across disciplines also continued to show up in the interviews. Direct examples of quotes from interviews include: Need for candidates who can apply their skills to real world situations With strong communication skills (i.e., able to translate science into effective communications to multiple internal and external stakeholders, funders, etc.) - both written skills and oral skills are important Employees who can manage and are very comfortable with big data know-how to mine it, learn from it and apply it With a commercial market-based mindset vs. an academic mindset. The Need for Trained Workers by Companies of all Sizes Hiring and workforce deployment trends were consistent across company sizes ranging from small (n<25) to large (n>1,000), but there was a surprising anecdotal finding that was supported across the interview-set: Whereas historically, large companies have tended to invest in workforce training, and small companies have sought employees who were sufficiently trained to hit the ground running, the lean human capacity models practiced by large - especially global - pharmaceutical companies have resulted in a reluctance to hire untrained individuals by companies of all sizes. This puts pressure on policy makers to ensure that targeted workforce training resources are available to train job seekers who are entering or re-entering the life science jobs market. WORKFORCE CAPABILITY AND NEEDS GAPS The following table lists emerging hypotheses for gaps between employer needs and available talent.

6 Table 1: Quotes from Interviews: Employer Hypotheses for Talent & Capability Gaps Cultural shifts in the US: going into the trades (i.e., biomanufacturing)not viewed as exciting Not enough apprenticeship programs (unlike the European model ) Not enough long-term intensive training programs Industry does not provide sufficient robust training (training cycles: challenging, timeconsuming and costly) for new hires Educational institutions in general: - do not understand job requirements and have not adapted their curricula to better align with the skills employers need - are simply not training and graduating enough life science-oriented talent - do not have sufficient educational facilities for training (especially scale-up and capital intensive labs) - do not prepare people to work and fit well in the industry (including 4-year programs) - are not training scientists to be able to work across areas, in multidisciplinary ways - are disconnected with business needs; e.g., PhDs work individually while industry is about team work; need for more cross-cultural and cross-discipline training; marriage of soft and hard skills For internships to work well, mentoring must be provided by a limited number of qualified and experienced scientists and managers Poorly-articulated value proposition for life science careers: - Not enough students are aware of the industry and its multiple career pathways and opportunities - We must find better ways to disseminate the industry needs information to the technical and professional candidate educators Difficult to find cross-trained, flexible work force: employers need a more experienced workforce that possesses learning agility, which is often missing in a classically trained / educated workforce Diversity in cultural background and international training is required to succeed in a global industry In summary, there are three types of capability gaps: - The life science industry is going through an adjustment period resulting in decreased need for deeply trained senior scientists; there is an over-specialization surplus, whereas employers are looking for a workforce with more breadth of experience - Academic programs are training students by discipline and not by problem-solving, which typically requires cross-disciplinary skills and capabilities - The value proposition of life science careers is poorly articulated, creating a mismatch of career opportunity awareness and employer needs POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS At this initial stage of the study, there are several emerging hypotheses for potential solutions that are being developed for continued analysis. The three strongest hypotheses are: 1. Develop and increase the scope of public-private and industry-academic internships, cooperative fellowships and training programs to enable students to gain exposure to industry-specific needs 2. Build a national life science certification program that includes potential deepdives into topics such as regulation, clinical trial design, and process validation. This program will be useful 3 Our findings are consistent with a Biospace.com report on this topic:

7 for training and certification of students who are starting life science careers, and for retraining career changers. Such a program, conducted under the aegis of a national body such as CSBI, would be well-received by industry and academic institutions 3. Recognize the global nature of the industry and the need for strong crosscultural fertilization and job mobility across national borders; increase the opportunities for interaction across functional and subject matter experts across regions and countries via structured and unstructured programs such as cross-industry secondment, externships and fellowships, and increase special worker visas In the next phase of the analysis, conducted during the second quarter of 2013, the emerging hypotheses will be further tested and developed. Maximum participation from life science companies should also enable the development of regional demand analyses in this second phase. ABOUT THIS STUDY To capture current demand in the life science industry, CSBI partnered with Burning Glass, a company that uses its patented job aggregation technology to mine job listings from over 25,000 sources. This was accompanied by interviews, conducted by Booz & Company consultants, with 25 strategic decision makers in life science companies, CROs/ CMOs, and bioscience staffing agencies throughout the country in an effort to begin developing a national snapshot of the current and projected talent needs in our dynamic industry. This introductory analysis is intended to enlist additional broad-scale participation in an annual in-depth review outlined in the following Call to Action. CALL TO ACTION The Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes is committed to continued dialogue with our industry to ensure that we are developing the talent needed to support ongoing innovation in the life sciences. By leading an in-depth, annual study of talent demand, the CSBI can bridge industry, academic institutions and workforce training initiatives. This national study will be a key tool in our industry s work with legislators, economic development staff, teachers, and other key stakeholders. To that end, we need our member companies throughout the country to: PARTICIPATE IN AN ANNUAL DEMAND INTERVIEW/SURVEY Commit strategic decision makers in your company/organization to participate in an annual interview/ survey that will provide insights into the most pressing current and projected workforce needs of the industry REVIEW/DEVELOP INDUSTRY STANDARDS & CERTIFICATION FOR IN-DEMAND POSITIONS Join a CSBI Industry Workforce Advisory Committee to review and to help develop industry certifications for the top ten in-demand life science positions HELP US ADVOCATE FOR DIRECTED JOB TRAINING DOLLARS Commit corporate industry representatives to speak with legislators and sign letters of support to help us channel Federal and state workforce dollars towards training for in-demand jobs in our industry For more information, please contact info@biotechinstitute.org.

8 ABOUT CSBI Founded in June 2012, the Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI) is a national coalition of 42 state bioscience organizations and the Biotechnology Institute that are working to ensure America s leadership in bioscience innovation by delivering industry-led life science education, workforce development, and entrepreneurship programs through a nationally coordinated effort. ABOUT BOOZ & CO. Booz & Company (booz.com) is a leading global management consulting firm focused on serving and shaping the senior agenda of the world s leading institutions. Drawing on the talents and insights of more than 3,000 people in 60 offices around the world, we help our clients achieve essential advantage by working with them to identify and build the differentiating capabilities they need to outperform. Avi Kulkarni is a partner with Booz & Company based in San Francisco and a member of the firm s global health practice. His areas of expertise include personalized medicine, life sciences R&D, and the pharmaceutical and diagnostics industries. avi.kulkarni@booz.com Tel: Fax: info@biotechinstitute.org