Help Wanted in Biomanufacturing--an article in Chemical and Engineering News

Chemical and Engineering News is not a journal I read very often, but a recent article titled “Help wanted in biomanufacturing” definitely caught my eye. Successes within the R&D and business fronts of life sciences companies have pushed technologies to commercial-scale production facilities. But there aren’t enough technicians to operate the machines that grow the cells. It isn’t a crisis….yet.

And with some smart and timely programs, it won’t become a crisis. Programs such as companies partnering with schools to set up a local associate’s degree program in hopes of then employing “home grown” talent. The Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation (MassBioEd) released its 2021 report which details the almost 20,000 life science jobs projected to be added in the state by the end of 2024. To help fill those jobs, MassBioEd started a Life Sciences Apprenticeship Program that offers people 4 months of academic instruction and a year of on-the-job training at a biotech company, learning skills that are often not taught in a bachelor’s program.

The Department of Defense helped launch a biobased chemical industry public-private partnership--BioMADE, which is working to make connections between community colleges and industry so that students, employees, and employers are all on the path toward mutual success. InnovATEBIO member Thomas Tubon is BioMADE’s Chief Workforce Development Officer and says “We’re gearing up to make some massive progress.”

Jim DeKloe, another InnovATEBIO member, and founder of one of the first biomanufacturing programs in the US, at Solano Community College. He is working with BioMADE to provide 20 community colleges with basic bioreactor equipment so that students can learn the skills needed for biomanufacturing.

Sandra Porter, InnovATEBIO Co-PI and Communications Director, believes that it is possible to train people faster, and points to community college intense boot camps that last weeks instead of years. A few years ago, Edin Rimando-McKeel took a free certificate course with DeKloe at Solano Community College in 2012 and launched her biotech career.  According to this now veteran employee in biomanufacturing, “You just learned the job by doing it.” The more opportunities there are to learn, before and/or on the job, the stronger the hiring pipeline for the biomanufacturing industry will be.

To learn more about these efforts read the article in Chemical and Engineering News