What will the new year bring for the Life Sciences industry?

These facts demonstrate the substantial growth that the UK Life Sciences industry has recently experienced.

The UK Life Sciences sector:

Employs 233,400 people which is an increase from 222,000 in 2015.
Generated £64 billion in annual turnover in 2016, up £3 billion from 2015.
Consists of two main sectors; Biopharmaceutical, and the Medical Technology sectors. 93% of employment in Biopharmaceuticals is in small molecules, therapeutic proteins and vaccines. The top 3 segments in Medical Technology are single use technology, digital health and orthopaedics devices. These account for 30% of Medical Technology’s employment.
Has a strong presence nationwide, with the South East being the largest employment area.
Has registered 1,806 companies and sites formed in the industry in the last 10 years. These companies employ over 16,000 people.

According to the REC, the Life Sciences sector was facing a shortage of skilled candidates. In November 2015, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) published a report ‘Bridging the skills gap in the Biopharmaceutical sector’ to raise the issue of the lack of appropriately qualified workers. This report outlines the shortages in key areas of the Life Sciences sector, such as: Device Technology, Physical Chemistry, Pharmacy Formulations and Qualified Persons.

The Life Sciences industry is reliant on innovative staff to continue to develop new products and processes. This talent is currently sourced from around the world, and in 2016 employed around 5,000 non-British EU citizens. However, with Brexit looming and substantial growth in the sector, it has left the market with a growing skills shortage. Roles are increasingly technical and specialist in nature, meaning that sourcing the right people for your business can be a costly and time-consuming process.

Blackfield Associates has developed a range of bespoke staffing solutions to ensure that the Life Sciences market has the talent it needs for the future.

The solutions that we provide are:

Retained Search; this programme provides our clients with a bespoke and confidential solution for their talent search.
Recruitment Campaign; our recruitment campaign allows us to deliver a high volume of staff to project deadlines and strict timescales.
Work Package / Statement of Work; the provision of an estimated fixed price package / solution for clients who are looking to outsource the delivery of non-core tasks or project related activities.
Contingent Recruitment; a contingent recruitment service for the delivery of permanent, temporary and contract staff.

We have experience in providing staffing solutions on a local or global scale. We support permanent, contract and managed work programmes across the Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and regulated Manufacturing sector.

We specialise in the following Life Sciences markets: