New £4.5m initiative launched to address UK medicines manufacturing skills shortage
A £4.5m initiative has been launched to address the growing skills shortage in the UK’s medicines manufacturing industry. The Resilience Centre of Excellence for UK Medicines Manufacturing Skills will be a single, well-coordinated location for workforce skills, training, and outreach. Innovate UK is running it and has been sponsored by the Office for Life Sciences, a division of the UK government's Department for Science.
Under the program, schools, higher education colleges, universities, and the NHS will receive in-person and remote training courses in advanced laboratory and medicines manufacturing skills from partner organizations across the UK, including the University of Birmingham, University College London, and Teesside University. The course will cover important industry themes including artificial intelligence, data analysis, digital technology, and environmental sustainability. Students will gain from cutting-edge instructional tools like virtual reality. Through the use of virtual versions of industry facilities, they will be able to acquire skills without the hazards to their safety or the environment that come with using actual equipment.