Skills-based recruitment in life sciences

Degree or skill – what’s more important? As life sciences companies across the globe compete to win top talent, Josh Needle, Managing Director – Life Sciences, spoke with In Vivo about the rise and benefits of skills-based recruitment.

From the article:

In the past, many pharma and biotech companies were highly selective and set unrealistic minimum qualifications for open roles because they had an abundance of candidates, said Needle.

However, “this employer position also limited their ability to tap into a more diverse talent population that’s truly representative to the patient communities they serve,” Needle told In Vivo. “But with the war for talent, the great resignation, and the lack of available new skills needed for these companies to continue to transform, they now need to expand what ‘good’ looks like when it comes to skills.”

Recognizing that candidates are in the driver’s seat, pharma organizations are making strategic changes to ensure the candidate experience, employer value proposition, and employer brand are resonating with the evolving marketplace. Life sciences companies are no longer just competing against each other for top talent – they’re up against other industries too, so it’s even more important for them to stand out from the competition.

Are pharma companies considering skills-based recruitment more than in the past decade?

"A hundred percent," said Needle. “With the scarcity of talent along with the skills that are needed, many organizations are now looking differently at skills-based recruitment versus needing a degree or even a high school diploma. It’s more about the skills needed to drive the business forward. Diversity hiring is also a priority, opening the talent pool to those who may have previously been excluded due to rigorous requirements.”

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