Together in electric dreams

What will life sciences roles look like over the ensuing years?

Often referred to as a ‘science-superpower’ or ‘jewel in the crown,’ the UK life sciences sector provides highly skilled, stimulating careers using the latest technology, right across the country.

And that’s not just hyperbole. According to official data, the life sciences sector directly employs more than 300,000 people and is responsible for contributing £108bn to the economy.

Cutting-edge research and breakthrough science requires the harnessing of talent and capabilities from across the UK’s skills system.

Latest available figures (20/21) show that around 4,000 graduates entered the UK life sciences sector following graduation and more than 900 apprenticeships commenced.

Yet new and emerging technologies are bringing with them the need for a range of new skills.

Rapid transformation is reshaping industries and redefining job roles across the world of work, and life sciences, like other areas, is in the midst of a period of unprecedented change.

It’s clear to me that two factors have already begun reshaping the skills landscape across life sciences and will surely come to define the roles and responsibilities of the future.

Firstly, digital technology – specifically, the vertiginous rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and the changes it will have on day-to-day working practices.

Far from the pessimistic predictions that the widespread adoption of AI will consign a steady stream of professions to the scrapheap, the growing use of digital technologies in daily working life will change – rather than replace – the skills and expertise needed from our workforce.

In fact, indicators point to continued employment growth in life sciences, with an increase of 5% in the last year alone.

And driven by advancements in high growth sub-sectors such as mobile health technology and applications, the number of people employed in digital health increased 59% over a five-year period to 2022.

By and large, jobs will change rather than be replaced. While in life sciences some tasks will be automated and roboticised, these new tools will require people with deep skills and understanding to programme and operate them.

Similarly, AI produces sophisticated outputs at great speed – but this output will need to be analysed by a person, who then takes one of any number of decisions based on the information at his or her disposal.

Overall, people with critical, analytical and project management skills will find themselves in greater demand. As increasing automation beds in, human decisions will become more critical and high-level.

The scale of transformation will undoubtedly generate new opportunities, but the competition for talent from other sectors will also be high.

The sector, therefore, must be ready to market itself as an attractive career option with diverse entry routes and opportunities to train, progress and develop a rewarding career.

The second factor is climate change. Every role, at every employer, in every industry must put sustainability at its heart if the UK is to meet its ambitious targets to reach net zero by 2050 and head off the worst impacts of climate change.

Whole new industries have and will continue to emerge to drive down carbon emissions and increase sustainability. For life sciences, the sector has a responsibility to make its practices more sustainable in order to protect our planet and its people.

By implementing sustainable processes and reducing resource usage, companies can create a brighter future for generations to come.

Meanwhile, the work to increase sustainability has already begun (plans to reduce single use plastics in the laboratory, for example) but the momentum must be maintained to make the industry an exemplar of how to decarbonise while still innovating and pushing forward.

Taken together, these two drivers of unprecedented change pose a set of significant challenges.

The pace of change – in what digital technology can help us do and the ever-more pressing need to increase environmental sustainability – means more resources must be reoriented, or else employers and even whole industries risk falling behind the curve.

In this context, the perennial difficulty in finding and retaining the right talent takes on a new urgency.

Employers must ensure they’re seeking the right skills from their new recruits, whether they are just starting out in their careers or have experience under their belts.

Similarly, the ageing workforce across the sector means employers must ensure existing staff are supported in upskilling and retraining to meet the changing needs of their roles.

On a personal level, these changes mean agility will become even more prized and those with flexibility to adapt will find themselves rewarded with greater demand for their services.

Employers must think more long term – something that recent economic uncertainty has rendered increasingly difficult but which will be vital if they are to give their workforce the foundational digital and sustainability skills on which more advanced and specific knowledge can be built.

At the highest level, government must foster and facilitate collaboration between industry and academia, supporting research and development, which harnesses the potential of these challenges to bring about meaningful, lasting change.

We cannot afford to miss out on untapped talent and apprenticeships have a huge role to play, the importance of technical skills in the workforce cannot be understated.

We also need to maintain a pipeline of talent from less advantaged backgrounds.  There are many young people who want a career in a scientific environment but do not have the social capital or family background to support their ambitions.

The Science Industry Partnership (SIP) brings employers together and helps them grow a highly skilled, world-class workforce for the science industries.

Over ten years of chairing the SIP, I’ve seen many factors affect how people across the sector perform their jobs and how employers ensure they have the skills to succeed – and I’m proud of how the SIP has supported employers through these difficult times.

In the last decade, more than 8,000 apprentices have started using standards developed by the SIP – from level 3 right the way through to postgraduate degree level (SIP members were instrumental in the development of level 7 Bioinformatics Apprenticeship Standard).

Many now work in disciplines that will continue to evolve as technology advances and develops.

Growing the skills base is also about widening the talent pool, ensuring that everyone has the access, opportunity and confidence to apply for a role in STEM.

Without a diverse range of backgrounds represented in our workforce, we not only risk missing out on talent but on the different perspectives and ideas this can bring.

Careers outreach is a vital part of this work, and the SIP has trained more than 900 science ambassadors who spend many hours in schools, colleges and sixth forms across the country, helping to engage and excite young people about a career in science – many of whom might not have considered it before.

As I step down as chair, I reflect on how the life sciences workforce will look over the next ten years and beyond – and I’m confident the dynamic, innovative people working across the sector will rise to the challenges we all face.

So, while these challenges are arguably unlike anything our sector has ever faced before, with the right planning and investment, they can be overcome. And the work to do that is already well under way.