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E XECUTIVE SUMMARY

Exploring skills shortages, fierce competition, and an increasingly mobile workforce in the Pharma and Medical Devices industries.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

TALENT IN SCIENCE: A SHIFTING WORLD OF WORK

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E XECUTIVE SUMMARY

How skills diversification and the need for greater workforce

agility are impacting the Pharma and Medical Devices industries

The global Pharma and Medical Devices markets have twin

challenges in relation to competing for available skills: a shortage

of people with industry-specific skills and the increasing need to

compete across sectors for non-scientific talent, notably through

increased demand for technology specialists.

These industries are also acutely aware of the need for greater

workforce agility, to help reduce costs, drive innovation and

accelerate product commercialisation.

Access to real-time insights into talent availability, the competitive

landscape and worker sentiment has become essential resourcing

tools for the industry.

The sector faces stiffening competition for workers, as its skills needs

diversify.

From scientists and engineers, through to regulatory affairs, R&D,

marketers and sales professionals the Pharma and Medical Devices

industries have to develop a strong employer brand to compete

against known, same-sector rivals and – increasingly - employers

across a broad spectrum of industries. These sectors also have

key legacy characteristics that frame the challenge of attracting a

diversified skills base.

The EU Life Sciences industry appears far more reliant on contingent

workers than other sectors:

• 27% of the EU workforce is engaged on a temporary or self-

employed basis

• 58% of survey respondents working in Life Sciences highlighted

that their work was non-permanent.

The EU Life Science industry does not actively promote its

accommodation of shorter hours working:

• Whilst one in five (19%) of EU Workers are engaged on a part-time

(>36 hours) basis – including 32% of women – just 3% of job ads for

key roles in Pharma and Medical Devices carried any reference to

part-time working.

EU Life Science professionals need to be coerced into moving roles:

• Just one in five (20%) EU Life Sciences professionals admit to

actively looking for new work. Only proactive sourcing will open

the remainder (who never or less frequently look) up to alternative

opportunities.

• Only a minority (38%) apply ‘blind’ through on-line application

Executive Summary

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E XECUTIVE SUMMARY

processes, highlighting the need for employers to have

more than one channel open for candidates to apply.

Workforce agility – to help reduce costs, drive innovation

and accelerate product commercialisation – will become a

competitive differentiator

Increasingly, the pools of available talent required by the

industry will not match the location of need. In addition,

the industry is acutely aware of the potential of embracing

AI, robotics and cognitive technologies and the potential

that this has for the redesign of almost every existing role.

As such, workforce mobility and technology augmentation

will have an increasingly vital role to play in the industry’s

shift towards an advanced, flexible operating model.

Encouragingly, relocating for work is commonplace – both

in-country and between countries – amongst the EU life

sciences workforce

• More than half (56%) of survey respondents, working

within the life science industry in the seven EU countries

in focus, had either moved between countries (25%) or

moved within a country (31%) for work.

• Moreover, of the 44% who have never moved locations

for work, 78% would consider moving overseas.

• 14% of Life Sciences professionals in the UK (versus a 5%

all-respondent average) that have never relocated could

be prompted to move overseas if there was a negative

change in economic conditions. With Brexit looming in

March 2019, the impact of the UK’s actual departure from

the EU appears about to start playing out.

The significant majority of EU Life Sciences professionals

know that part – or all – of their current role could be

automated over the next five years. Most see this as an

opportunity.

• More than seven in ten EU Life Sciences workers believe

that part (70%) or all (2%) of their current role could be

automated in the medium term (next five years).

• 76% of EU Life Sciences professions view this as an

opportunity for them to achieve more in their role through

technology augmentation (versus 24% who perceive

automation as a threat to their job).

Real-time insight into supply, demand, reward levels and

worker sentiment within the EU countries competing for

the same skills has become an imperative

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E XECUTIVE SUMMARY

The industry currently has a dual challenge: working hard to secure its

existing scarce talent and continuing to learn how to attract workers

from other sectors with the skills that it needs. To do this effectively,

resourcers need real-time insights relating to supply, demand and

workers sentiment at their fingertips.

The labour market dynamics and average wages vary significantly

between the key EU countries competing for these skills within the

Pharma and Medical Devices industries:

• Average all-sector wage – Italy: c. €30k versus Switzerland: c. €67k

• Unemployment rate - Italy: 10.4% versus Switzerland: 2.4%

In most generic occupations, those in post within either Pharma or

the Medical Devices industry are in the significant minority:

Across the 7 countries in focus:

• Just 12% of QA/QC/Quality Managers in post work, 4% of

marketing managers and 1% of data Scientists work in Pharma or

Medical Devices.

What attracts workers to employers varies by location and

occupation:

• The primary draw of all EU Life sciences professionals was the

reputation of the employer (cited by 15%).

• For R&D Professionals, it is the opportunity to be involved in

challenging work (17%)

• For sales. Marketing and commercial professionals, it is career

progression opportunities (19%).

When considering a cross-border move, knowledge about potential

earnings is an essential:

• The practice of advertising wages on job ads varies significantly by

country: UK = 50%, NL 13%, Italy & France = <5%.

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APPENDIX

This Executive Summary forms part 1 of a 3 part report. The report is based on research carried out

by Kelly Services across a group of 1,400 life science professionals. This report comprises data from

seven countries (France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, UK, Ireland and Switzerland) and was carried out

by independent research group Worklab. As an employment research consultancy, Worklab sources,

aggregates and distils data and market intelligence into insights through which organisations can make

informed decisions around employment strategy.

About Kelly®As a leader in the European life sciences arena, for almost three decades, Kelly employees have analysed

DNA, aided the discovery of new drug therapies, built devices to keep hearts beating, ensured quality

standards were upheld, managed payroll and helped to monitor clinical trials.

Kelly is part of the life sciences ecosystem and is on hand to help businesses find great talent. Offering a

comprehensive array of staffing solutions on a temporary, temporary to hire and direct hire basis. Let’s get

together to discuss the best solutions for your business.

Visit kellyservices.com, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn or contact us directly by

emailing lifesciencesEMEA@kellyservices.com