Building the Bioworkforce of the Future 

Says here in this exciting new report out of the White House, “Global industry is on the cusp of a revolution powered by biotechnology and biomanufacturing. By harnessing the power of biotechnology and biomanufacturing, we can produce almost anything that we use in our day-to-day lives—from medicines to fuels to plastics.”

So far, pretty peppy and upbeat, not so new. Yet, it gets better.

“President Biden signed the Executive Order [for a]National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative…to ensure that cutting-edge products resulting from biotechnology invented in the United States are manufactured in the United States.” However, this initiative will only succeed if our nation has a skilled and diverse workforce to meet the needs of the growing bioeconomy today and into the future.

Aha, a point that’s been lost on some folk. The products of the future will not be manufactured where the cheapest labor is — those days are gone. They will be manufactured where the cheapest labor with high and relevant skills are. 

Yes, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is at it again. I might add, OSTP is itself an example of doing a lot with very little so long as the people are sufficiently high-skilled and motivated. I can hardly find the identity of a single person who is actually on an OSTP payroll. All the brain power appears to be borrowed, seconded, tapped via stealth, cajoled, encouraged, and occasionally pressed.

The Administration has come up with 5 key recommendations, and you can read the 37 page version here. Or, read on, here’s the 140 word Digest version.

Recommendation #1: 

Expand and diversify the talent pool for biotechnology and biomanufacturing jobs and careers to promote innovation and advance equity.

Recommendation #2: 

Strengthen worker-centered sector strategies and other partnerships between employers, labor organizations, community colleges, and other training providers to grow and diversify the bioworkforce. 

Recommendation #3: 

Develop and rigorously evaluate innovative approaches to education and training for biotechnology and biomanufacturing jobs and careers, scaling and promoting those found to be most effective.

Recommendation #4: 

Partner with state and local governments, education and training providers, bioscience associations, unions and other worker-serving organizations, and other stakeholders to raise awareness about the promise and potential of careers in the bioworkforce. .

Recommendation #5: 

Improve data and analytic capacity and cross-sector collaboration to advance equity and support effective workforce development—including the development of industry-recognized credentials and competency models.

The Bottom Line

Gotta have smart people, and a lot of them. Those happy bacteria and yeast can do it all by their onesey, though with enough work on AI, perhaps they will. But not soon. For now, we have to build value the old-fashioned way, and get the right people to the right skill level, with the right goals and the right esprit de corps. Looks like the thinking has started on this one, and well. 

More on the story and the downloadable report, here.