Building a healthy UK science sector

Philip Whiteman examines the formula to ensure future success in the science sector.

Britain has a rich heritage of scientific and technological innovation and the sector remains strategically important to the country’s future. The UK is Europe’s top location for investment in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development and, as a result, the science industry is crucially important to the country’s economy. In fact, 1.8% of total UK GVA (Gross Value Added) to UK PLC is attributable to the sector and the pharmaceuticals sector contributed £8.9 billion to UK GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 2007 and £7 billion to the trade surplus in 2009.

At Semta, we know that every business depends on the skills of its workforce to drive productivity, growth and success, and the science sector is no exception. In order to simplify the skills landscape and improve skills in the UK science industries, Semta recently completed an extensive labour market survey to identify the specific skills needed in the sector, and to assist in the development of the correct qualifications and training programmes to meet these needs.

Semta’s UK Science Industries report sets out the detailed skills, needs and current provision for the Science Industry (Bioscience) sector, building on the work undertaken previously for the Sector Skills Agreements. The science sector covers pharmaceuticals (including R&D); the manufacture of medical and surgical equipment and orthopaedic appliances, and also science and engineering research and development.

Although the sector has seen job losses between 2001 and 2008 (ABI 2008), there has been an increase of employment over the last 12 months of 14% (Semta LMS 2009).

Semta recognises that the science sector faces challenges ahead as the UK emerges from recession – business confidence is low, capacity is under-utilised, and jobs and orders hang in the balance. But in order to stay at the cutting edge, science companies must continue to invest in world-class skills. This has proved no easy task; of those companies who took part in Semta’s research, 10% of respondents have hard-to-fill vacancies within their organisation and 7% of UK establishments report skills shortages. Skills gaps were reported by 15% of respondents.

This is the contradiction at the heart of the skills debate. While some jobs are being lost, the demand for high-level skills is also continuing to rise. Securing a job in the future will be about having the world-class skills that employers are crying out for. It is worth noting that 58% of science workforce is qualified to NQF (National Qualification Framework) level 4+ compared with 33% for the whole economy.

Several factors will drive changes in the bioscience industry in the next few years. The first of these will be the introduction of new products and services, most frequently in the pharmaceuticals sector. In addition, new technologies or equipment will demand a new set of skills and new working practices, particularly the pharmaceuticals sector which will require continuous adjustments to the skillset. Finally, new legislative or regulatory requirements will require good management and leadership skills and flexibility within the workforce.

Based on the findings of the report, there is a projected net requirement of 50,000 people to cover employment growth and retirements within the UK science industries between 2010 and 2016. This includes 12,000 in managerial occupations; 9,300 associate professionals (technicians) and 9,200 professionals; 14,800 people at NQF Level 4 and 4,700 at NQF Level 5.

At present, our research indicates there to be approximately 191,000 employees and 6,490 employers within the UK science industries. 48% of science industry employers recruited in the last 12 months and 76% of those recruited as graduates, postgraduates or doctorates had relevant work experience.

In responding to the feedback from employers, Semta has committed to creating a simplified skills landscape, which means that employers can identify and access the specific training and skills they require more easily. By working in partnership with other industry bodies and stakeholders, the bioscience industry can move to a demand-led skills system.

Key to the success of this approach will be to ensure that companies of all sizes undertaking training are able to demonstrate a return on their investment. Having high quality training programmes and qualifications will be important in creating this new highly-skilled and adaptable workforce.

As part of this process Semta has recently launched a new ‘Skills Connector’ tool, which allows companies to match their business needs directly to the training on offer. The new service is built around a simple four-step process that allows employers to identify their specific skills needs, make a training plan and source the right training provision and funding to get return on investment.

The UK Science Industries (Bioscience) report was published at the beginning of July by Semta. It is a sector skills assessment to guide employers, policy makers and training providers on the future skills needs of this critical industry. It is available at: www.semta.org.uk