Pharmaceutical hiring is facing a severe
skills shortage, but a few key strategies could help employers close the gap.
By adjusting hiring practices and improving access to training, pharmaceutical
companies can fill crucial roles while providing valuable jobs for thousands of
people. What are the best tactics for filling the pharmaceutical skills gap?
By Emily Newton
Fair and Flexible Experience Requirements
High barriers to entry in pharmaceutical
hiring contribute to the skills shortage by keeping out candidates who may be
skilled but lack experience. An increasing number of “entry-level” jobs require
three or more years of experience, putting them out of reach of many actual
entry-level candidates.
Employers can fill many positions left open by
the skills gap by reconsidering the minimum required experience. This strategy
is ideal for low-level jobs where on-the-job training would be feasible.
Applicants may have experience in other
industries, have informal experience, be recent graduates or have an unfinished
degree. Giving these applicants a chance may help fill many crucial roles while
providing valuable career opportunities.
There is evidence for the effectiveness of
rapid training programs, as well. For example, coding bootcamps have
transformed hiring in computer science and cybersecurity roles.
Surveys show 31.7% of hiring managers have hired a coding
bootcamp graduate, and 72.2% say those graduates performed as well or better
than employees with a traditional bachelor’s degree. Interestingly, 71% of
hiring managers specifically reported that coding bootcamp graduates were
better at learning new skills quickly.
This data indicates that the type of job
candidates who succeed in rapid training programs often have highly
advantageous underlying skills or traits that can make them great employees.
Furthermore, a lack of experience doesn’t necessarily mean an employee is less
capable or skilled than someone with more experience.
Apprenticeship Programs and International Hiring
Apprenticeship programs are ideal for
addressing pharmaceutical hiring because of today’s high need for specialized
skill sets. Many university programs struggle to keep up with the rapid pace of
change, leaving graduates ill-equipped to meet skill and experience
requirements.
Apprenticeship programs close the gap by
providing graduates with valuable skills and allowing employers to train employees
for the exact skills they need. Running an apprenticeship program requires some
investment, but it could pay off significantly for the entire industry.
A single job vacancy can cost thousands of
dollars per month, with skills shortages overall costing businesses $8.5 trillion in the U.S.
by 2030. In contrast, consider an apprenticeship program paying a recent
graduate or graduate student for living expenses and a monthly stipend. Within
six to twelve months, this student could learn the specialized skills the
employer needs while also working for them.
The cost of paying for that student’s training
through an apprenticeship could pay itself off within a year, especially if the
apprentice continues working for their employer for several years afterward.
Job loyalty is much more likely in a scenario like this, where employers show
how much they value employees by investing in their careers.
Creating Opportunities for
International Applicants
Pharmaceutical hiring managers can use
apprenticeships to tap into hiring pools outside their usual range. For
example, a pharmaceutical company might create an apprenticeship program in
collaboration with a foreign university to provide immersive study-abroad
opportunities. Students could experience another culture while learning
valuable career skills and potentially securing a job.
International hiring requires some extra
preparation, although it may be worth it to help close the skills gap by
bringing talented people where they are needed most. That could even apply to
domestic employees who may be able to fill a skills shortage at another office
within the same company.
A robust global mobility strategy can improve retention rates by reducing
geographic barriers to employment. Those barriers can be particularly
challenging for students and recent graduates who may want to take a
pharmaceutical job but lack the financial ability to relocate.
Collaboration with Universities
Working with universities can be a great
long-term strategy for resolving pharmaceutical hiring challenges. Recent,
ongoing innovations in the industry are making it challenging for university
professors and resources to keep up. Many advanced technologies and pieces of
equipment are completely beyond the financial reach of many educational
institutions.
As a result, many new graduates are entering
the pharmaceutical hiring pool with outdated skills and a lack of important
specialized skills. Collaborating with universities to expand access to
equipment, processes and resources could help resolve this issue. This could
come in the form of apprenticeship programs built specifically for university
students, much like an internship.
Reskilling, Upskilling and Mentorships
For people already working in the
pharmaceutical industry, reskilling, upskilling and mentorships are the best
option for addressing skill gaps. This typically includes workplace training
programs focused on building new skills in existing employees, often with the
goal of transitioning to a new role at the same company.
Reskilling and upskilling are good for
employees as well as pharmaceutical companies. Studies show that skill building
programs result in higher employee satisfaction and
retention. Reskilling and upskilling may help prevent employees from quitting
and worsening the industry’s labor shortage.
The main difference between reskilling and
upskilling is the gap between an employee’s current and new roles. For
instance, a pharmaceutical company might train an IT team member to work in AI
process modeling. This would be upskilling since the IT team member is still
working in a related role.
Reskilling is ideal for retaining workers if
their current job becomes obsolete. For instance, a pharmaceutical manufacturer
could reskill assembly line workers to become robotics technicians or
programmers. Both reskilling and upskilling can resolve skill gaps, just in
different ways.
Resolving Pharmaceutical Hiring Challenges
Pharmaceutical hiring managers are grappling
with a serious skills shortage due to rapid innovation and change in the
industry. Luckily, there are a few robust strategies employers can use to close
the gap and get the skilled workforce they need. Expanding access to training
and resources for both new and existing employees is the key to resolving the
skills shortage today and in the long term.
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