Podcast: Turning out talent and the trials of training in the bioprocess space

Training, virtual reality, and uptake in courses are all critical factors that need to be addressed to meet the demand for talent in the advanced therapy space, according to industry academics.

This episode of the BioProcess Insider Expression Platform (BIEP) podcast brings you an in-depth conversation with Stuart Curbishley, head of business and project development, advanced therapies at University of Birmingham and Ivan Wall, CEO, Four-Plus and director of the National Training Center for advanced therapies manufacturing.

We delve deep into the challenges concerning training talent in the advanced therapy and wider biopharma space, potential solutions that could filter the staffing bottleneck, and how the respective institutions are responding to these issues.

Wall kicks off the chat telling BioProcess Insider that it is very clear that “we need to train a lot of people over the next five years, and I don’t think that at the moment the training initiatives we have in place meet the throughput demand. I [also] don’t think the university courses in place or college courses will meet the skills requirement that we have so we need new interventions that will accelerate the rate that we can train people and deliver people that are industry ready.”

Curbishley echoes Wall’s point and says that there is a “big gap in manufacturing skilled staff to fill manufacturing slots, the initiatives need to span from early graduates, even school leavers through to those that are in clinical programs and delivery teams to enable the sector to grow anywhere near its potential in the next five to ten years.”

The latest episode of the BioProcess Insider Expression Platform podcast and can be found below or at Spotify, Apple iTunes, Google podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.