Life science leaders warn medicine’s Budget windfall must be supported by talent drive
11 Nov 2024
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget announcement of more than half a billion pounds-worth of investment in medicine manufacturing must be coupled with fresh effort to train a skilled workforce, warns a leading figure in the sector.
“This announcement in the Budget to support life sciences is a welcome step for the UK medicines manufacturing sector”, said Professor Ivan Wall, co-director of Resilience, the new government-funded Medicines Manufacturing Skills Centre of Excellence.
He added: “However, there is an acute skills shortage that must be addressed to ensure we have trained staff ready to work in the sector.”
Created with £4.5 million to address the skills shortage faced by the medicines manufacturing industry in the UK, the two year Innovate UK-managed Resilience project is funded by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology’s Office for Life Sciences.
Wall continued: “A major consideration for success in building this capability will be in ensuring a strong supply of talent to maximise productivity across new facilities.
“Talent is in short supply across the UK Life Sciences sector and that is where projects like Resilience can help, by building the ecosystem to maintain a strong, internationally competitive sector and ensure patients have access to the best drugs through the NHS.”
Resilience will have responsibility for delivering new training courses for industry, the NHS and education providers, with a focus on areas such as digital technology, artificial intelligence, data analysis and environmental sustainability. It will also work with the NHS on achieving net-zero goals.
Said Wall: “Around 25% of NHS emissions are in the supply chain, so our approach using VR training will reduce plastics and other waste, helping the industry deliver net zero medicines manufacturing.”
The recent life sciences competitiveness indicators 2024 estimated UK pharmaceutical manufacturing’s gross value added (GVA) at £13.7 billion in 2021. According to the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership, medicines manufacturing generates the majority of life sciences jobs.
To find out more about Resilience, visit https://www.resilience-skills.com/
