The incredible, non-stop growth of the global cell and gene therapy market – valued at ~$12 billion by 2025 – means that talent is in high demand. (That estimate does not include tissue engineering, but it still seems low.) While seasoned professionals and those with leadership and hybrid skills are harder to come by, the industry also needs engineers, scientists, clean room operators, supply chain professionals, quality and regulatory experts, and more.
Governments around the world are estimating how many jobs will be required in the future. For example, the BBC reported that “The UK government predicts there could be more than 18,000 new jobs created by gene and cell therapy in Britain alone by 2030, while the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates it will see a 7% increase in jobs for biomedical engineers and a 13% increase in medical scientists, together accounting for around 17,500 jobs.”
A 2018 article in The Globe and Mail states: “In the recent Statistics Canada census, only 24.8 per cent of Canada’s postsecondary graduates were from STEM fields. And that’s despite STEM having the fastest rate of job growth in Canada (4.6 per cent yearly growth versus 1.8 per cent for the job market as a whole).”
There are all sorts of programs in Canada to encourage, educate, inspire and support young people interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), but Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) is honing in on advanced manufacturing.
NGen is the industry-led, non-profit organization that leads Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster. It is addressing the personnel shortage by educating high school students, and their parents, about exciting careers in robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, digital twins and the industrial internet of things (IIoT), virtual and augmented reality, additive manufacturing and 3D printing…all fields that are connected to advanced manufacturing, with no relation to factory jobs from the past like this one humorously depicted in the I Love Lucy show.
NGen has launched a national campaign, in both official languages, to reach those aged 15-18. Campaign materials will be shared on social media sites that are popular with teens and there is an impressive website featuring careers of the future. Check it out!
As an employer, CCRM appreciates NGen’s efforts to attract new talent into the field. Our plans to build biomanufacturing infrastructure in Hamilton, Ontario, will result in 500 plus jobs in the first few years after the facility is built. Manufacturing cells and viral vectors to produce therapies for patients is a rewarding career and there is huge demand for trained people.
CCRM’s Centre for Advanced Therapeutic Cell Technologies (CATCT), a partnership with Cytiva, is changing how cells are manufactured by closing processes and turning manual steps into ones that can be automated. (In a closed system, the biological material is never exposed to the open environment; therefore, you reduce the risk of contamination. Closed systems also enable increased automation, which can shorten timelines and lower costs.) This allows the industry to move from clinical scale to commercial-scale manufacturing and ideally offer treatments and cures that are more affordable.
To learn about the advanced manufacturing work CCRM’s engineers and scientists perform in CATCT, and to see our customized, robotic liquid handling machine in action, watch the video below.
Stacey Johnson
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