The Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI) Presents Key Insights into Life Science Workforce Trends in Nature Biotechnology Publication

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI) today announced the publication in Nature Biotechnology of a preliminary analysis of workforce trends in the life science industry culled from company leaders and strategists responsible for anticipating hiring needs that are aligned with their projected company growth.  The results are based on an introductory investigation in an ongoing study conducted in collaboration with Booz & Company and Burning Glass designed to answer two of the most pressing questions in the industry today, "Where are the jobs?" and "Where are the jobs going to be?"  The article is currently available online and appears in the September 2013 print edition of Nature Biotechnology.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130228/LA69104LOGO)

"The data highlights a strong shift away from a need for very senior specialists with narrow foci, towards an emphasis on people with interdisciplinary academic training who can support more than one project team and work across multiple areas where not everyone has to be an expert," commented Kathy Nugent, Ph.D., President of BioAlabama, Co-Chair of the  CSBI Workforce Development Committee and co-author of the article. 

"The clear message is that current workforce preparation needs to happen while our future employees are still in school, and not as a bridge between graduation and first-job competency.  This is valuable information that will help inform our national academic institutions and stakeholders on how best to train the industry's future workforce," added Kristie Grover, Executive Director of the Biocom Institute, and Co-Chair of the CSBI Workforce Development Committee.  Avi Kulkarni of Booz & Company and co-author of the report added: "This report captures the nature of the shift in demand in job-related qualifications and makes the case for retraining employees at all levels to provide better value to the life sciences industry."

About the Study
CSBI partnered with Booz & Co. to interview  25 strategic decision makers in life science companies, CROs/CMOs, and bioscience staffing agencies throughout the country, asking them to focus on where their current and anticipated needs  are for talent to sustain and grown their companies.  The findings are supplemented with analysis using software from Burning Glass, a proprietary platform which draws from 17,000 job boards, newspapers and employers.

The CSBI is currently embarking on the next phase of the study, expanding its analysis to a broader set of participating companies and a more targeted set of data from Burning Glass to further explore the emerging themes highlighted in the introductory analysis.

"By focusing on real-time appraisals from company strategists, supplemented by more in-depth jobs posting data, and collected annually from the CSBI's broad member company base, the CSBI can provide important insight into where we and our stakeholders should be focusing our career preparation efforts," said Lori Lindburg, Executive Director of the BayBio Institute and CSBI Chair. "The CSBI is committed to a continuing dialog with the life science industry to ensure the proper development of the talent needed to support innovation in this industry as it continues to experience rapid and unparalleled growth,"

About the Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI)  www.csbinstitutes.org  
The Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI) was officially formed in June 2012 when 42-state bioscience organizations and the Biotechnology Institute came together with the common goal to ensure America's leadership in bioscience innovation by delivering industry-led life science education, workforce development, and entrepreneurship programs through a nationally coordinated effort. 

SOURCE The Biocom Institute