PCRAMS Growth Predictions will Fail if Skills Shortages Remain Unchanged

The pharmaceutical contract research and manufacturing services (PCRAMS) industry is set for significant skills shortages if growth predications continue, according to Clinical Professionals.

In light of recent calculations by the Chemical Pharmaceutical Generic Association (CPA), Europe's largest independent pharmaceutical staffing business has voiced concerns that the sector is facing a severe talent shortage as numbers of trained experts entering employment remain well below demand.

According to the CPA, the global PCRAMS industry is set to grow on average 13.6% per year between now and 2017. If these predictions are correct, the sector will be worth $136 billion in 4 years' time, up on the $72 billion from 2012.

With talent shortages already noted across pharma and life sciences, this growth will be severely hindered if skills gaps aren’t addressed soon, as Yvette Cleland, Group Managing Director of Clinical Professionals explains: “The PCRAMS sector is clearly buoyant and the growth predications are, on one level, encouraging. However, the fact that we are already in the throes of a skills shortage, combined with the limited number of emerging talent seeking employment in this arena, presents a significant concern. The industry has long debated how to address the future gap in trained professionals, but has now reached a stage where this level of growth simply cannot continue without a clear solution. Organisations must engage with talent at an early stage of their career to ensure they not only follow the best routes to employment in the industry, but are also fully aware of the various options available within the sector. In fact in order to address this, we will be launching a new training academy next year to support life science grads coming into industry with careers focused on CTA’s or CRA’s.”