NIIMBL Addresses Biopharma Talent Pipeline Solution Through Industry and Community College Collaboration

NEWARK, Del., March 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) issues Part II of a whitepaper series titled Innovation of the Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Talent Pipeline, a series focused on highlighting non-traditional and novel solutions for the talent pipeline gap in the biopharmaceutical industry. The newest whitepaper focuses on successes and challenges faced by community college biotechnology degree programs and makes the case for stronger engagement between industry and community colleges.

According to InnovATEBIO, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technology Education (ATE) consortium of community colleges, there are approximately 100 two-year colleges, distributed across 40 states, currently offering degrees (and/or certificates) in biotechnology and biomanufacturing in the United States. However, while graduates are being hired by more than 1300 employers across the country including many familiar names in big pharma, these programs face multiple sustainability challenges associated with staffing, cost, and competing programs from other industry sectors. The whitepaper highlights some of these challenges and builds a case for stronger industry engagement to ensure these programs thrive and graduates get jobs. 

"As we've begun to see in the past few years, there really are some innovative approaches to training the next generation biopharmaceutical manufacturing workforce. It's our hope that by exposing more of these solutions to industry, we can drive some step change progress as talent funnels broaden and hiring risk tolerance increases in our industry," states John Balchunas, NIIMBL workforce director.

This white paper is Part II of a larger series in which NIIMBL seeks to advance novel and non-traditional pathways that could strengthen talent pipelines for the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry. The intent of the series is to catalyze dialogue and action by identifying current and perspective concerns and the root of the issues holding back the U.S. biopharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem while offering solutions and alternative practices that can help resolve these issues. 

To learn more about NIIMBL and to download the Part II of Innovation of the Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Talent Pipeline visit NIIMBL.org.

The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) is a public-private partnership whose mission is to accelerate biopharmaceutical innovation, support the development of standards that enable more efficient and rapid manufacturing capabilities, and educate and train a world-leading biopharmaceutical manufacturing workforce, fundamentally advancing U.S. competitiveness in this industry. NIIMBL is part of Manufacturing USA®, a diverse network of federally sponsored manufacturing innovation institutes, and is funded through a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. Department of Commerce with significant additional support from its members. 

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SOURCE National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL)