This article is the second in our Spotlight on: Talent in the life sciences sector series.
Following our article on Talent trends and solutions for the life sciences sector, published as part of our Biotech Review of the Year - Issue 12 publication earlier this year, we have produced a five part article series which explores the reasons for the continued shortage of talent within the life sciences sector and strategies for addressing this challenge.
We begin this article with a selection of industry insights. Scroll-through the following infographic before continuing the article below.
The life sciences industry is uniquely positioned in that there is a constant demand for research and development of medicines, treatments, devices and diagnostic. As a result, the industry is largely able to avoid taking steps to reduce headcount by making redundancies. Globally, only 24% of leaders within the industry consider lay-offs to be a big challenge for their company. Instead, 32% report talent scarcity and 23% cite people leaving or retiring as key concerns negatively impacting the life sciences and pharmaceutical sector.9
One thing is clear in that there are a number of key factors driving the talent shortage. The absence of one single cause is creating complexity for HR professionals within the sector.
Technological advancements and innovation mean expertise in data science, digital, maths and engineering are key skills to harness across the workforce’s skills portfolio. The skills shortage requires employers to continually assess the capabilities of their existing workforce, and identify gaps to be filled by hiring or re-training. 87% of leaders consider their talent strategies to be more focused on workforce agility than ever before.9
One thing is clear in that there are a number of key factors driving the talent shortage. The absence of one single cause is creating complexity for HR professionals within the sector. This article scratches the surface on the fundamental employment challenges facing pharmaceutical companies today.
1. Unprecedented industry growth
Recruitment pipelines are struggling to match pace with the ever expanding numbers of vacancies across the sector.
The UK life sciences industry generated £108.1 billion in turnover in 2021/22, a 13% increase on 2020/21.10 More than 304,190 people are employed across the sector, within 5,800 businesses over 6,400 sites.2 This rate of employment represents a relative increase of 5% compared to 2020/21 and 15% over the previous 3 years.10
The UK pharmaceutical industry has the highest R&D expenditure compared to other industries.4 In 2023, an estimated 2.8 million people were employed in occupations considered to be essential to R&D activities across all sectors, an increase of 1.1 million since 2012.1 Looking forward, it is expected that 1.9 million STEM professionals will be needed in the UK by 2035, including within areas such as computing and engineering.11
In part, this surge of economic growth can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic which highlighted the importance of the life sciences industry in developing life-saving diagnostics, vaccines, treatment and medicines. As such, there is a renewed increase in demand within fields such as virology, immunology and clinical research. With a globally ageing population, this demand for pharmaceutical innovation and medicine discovery will only increase. It is predicted that an additional 133,000 life sciences jobs will be required by 2030, to achieve the UK Government’s Life Science Vision of being a science and technology superpower.2
The skills shortage was troubling pharmaceutical companies prior to the pandemic. New business models and a shifting focus on new-found fields of research have long been driving demands for talent, with 39% of people across the life sciences industry employed in the medical technology core sector in 2021/22. A move towards therapeutic innovations such as personalised medicine is also driving demand, with employment within the field of genomic more than doubling from 2016 to 2022.10
2. COVID-19 and changing work habits
The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused a seismic shift to our working habits. Employees indicate a preference for flexible working patterns be it via remote or home working opportunities and are beginning to expect more from their employers in terms of benefits offered in addition to their standard remuneration package.
Prior to the pandemic, just 4.7% of UK employees worked from home. This increased 10-fold to 46.6% by April 2020, in the majority of cases as a direct result of the pandemic. 78% of employees see improved work life balance as a positive of home working, as well as 53% citing fewer distractions and 47% noting an improvement in wellbeing. Almost a third of UK employees considered there to be no disadvantages to working from home.12 STEM professionals are now rating flexible working as the most important factor for a new role, above pay and benefits. Data from the World Economic Forum shows that 30% of employees would consider looking for a new role if they had to return to the office full-time.13
This is in contrast to the up to 90% of employers who reported in 2023 that they would prefer their workforce to return to the office.14 Also, in 2023 only 3 in 10 jobs across all sectors were advertised with flexible working as a benefit.5
A fully remote permanent role is also desired by UK tech professionals. This desire is already being met by an overwhelming number of technology companies who provide hybrid or fully remote roles, at 91% and 42% respectively.15 The technology sector is streets ahead when it comes to offering hybrid working arrangements. With digital skills becoming increasingly important to the life science sector, pharmaceutical companies need to improve their remote working offerings to prevent talent from deflecting to the tech sector.
Time spent at home during the various lockdown periods prompted society to re-evaluate their lifestyle priorities. Employees now place a higher value on their well-being and will demand more from their employers in terms of policies and perks. Many members of the life science workforce who sustained us by working tirelessly through the intense period of the pandemic are burnt out. Add in the lack of resourcing, may employees are simply choosing to leave the sector. Furthermore, new talent may not be attracted by the prospect of a large work load when benefits provided may be below the market standard offering that they have come to expect.
COVID-19 also spurred on the Great Resignation of 2021, a time when record numbers of employees resigned from their jobs. Although initially contributing to a skills shortage across various industries, the life sciences sector should understand it is not alone in experiencing troubles with retaining and recruiting talent. Instead, this turbulent period could be capitalised upon to bring fresh skills into the sector by offering employees an improved professional experience with innovative and rewarding work opportunities and competitive compensatory packages.
3. Technological disruption
The technological revolution is acting as a catalyst to change across countless industries. The pandemic has accelerated technological disruption even further as our personal and professional lives were forced to exist substantially online. However, innovation was already a growing seed within the life sciences sector, with the emergence of newer fields such as MedTech attracting increasing investment and resource towards the research and development of new medical technologies and devices.
The life sciences industry is not unique in its need for digital skills and is competing with an ever growing number of sectors to secure these sought after skills. As mentioned above, technology companies are already providing their workforce with more flexible working environments. Salaries may also be higher, with talent also attracted by the excitement of working on cutting edge and innovative projects. All these can be matched by other employers, in an attempt to attract talent. The New Scientist Jobs’ Global STEM Salary Survey 2024 surveyed over 4,000 professionals across the scientific, clinical, engineering and technology industries, revealing that the average salary increased to £57,724 in 2023, up 11.1% from the previous year.16
A survey by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) shed light on the fact that not only do employers seek new skills, but combined skill portfolios are increasingly in demand.4 This is supported by the recently published Skills England Sector skills needs assessment for the life sciences sector, which highlighted an increasing demand for interdisciplinary skills, particularly digital and technological in combination with scientific skills. This skillset is thought to be vital for interdisciplinary careers, such as in the areas of personalised medicine and digital health.17
Employees have enthusiasm for technological advancement and employers need to start to embrace it. PwC’s latest Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey reports 77% of employees are keen to upskill and embrace new ways of working. 62% of employees (and 64% of CEOs) believe AI will increase efficiencies in employees’ time at work, with 76% of employees believing that AI will create opportunities to learn new skills.18
Many prospective candidates may perceive the pharmaceutical industry to be overly traditional or may simply be unaware of the innovations being pioneered within the life sciences sector. Improving the presence of ‘next-generation’ medical developments and reviewing how employers market themselves to the talent pool, may help to attract those with specialised skills into the sector.
4. Lack of investment in re-training and upskilling
The ABPI found a lack of core skills to be a growing apprehension, with surveyed respondents expressing concern that new recruits appear to lack crucial problem solving, critical thinking, communication and teamworking skills. Companies also reported an increasing need for combined technical and core skills, for example individuals with scientific expertise but also strong leadership skills.
The existing workforce is a pool of talent that employers can tap into. Motivating employees may be a challenge, with a recent PwC report showing only 53% of employees feel like there is too much change happening all at once to their role.18 That said, training and development is important to 72% of workers and 44% would not accept a job that does not offer upskilling opportunities.9
With the pharmaceutical sector growing consistently year on year, there is limited need to reduce headcounts by making redundancies. Whilst this maintains the number of individuals on the payroll, it may cause culture to stagnate with many employees committing life-long service to their pharmaceutical employers. This can reduce agility and speed of change within a business, perhaps making them slow and cautious to innovate. This environment is unlikely to appeal to young professionals. This lack of turnover can also cause skills to plateau over time, widening the talent gap ever further. Investing in upskilling and re-training opportunities can refresh and take advantage of the workforce that is already sat ready and waiting within the business. Skills England also suggests a modular approach to internal workforce training, to address the need for quickly evolving interdisciplinary skills without excessive resource strain.17
5. Challenges to global mobility
Brexit
Brexit has had an understandably profound impact on global mobility both to and from the UK. No longer able to embrace free movement of labour within the EU, employers have to rely on visas to mobilise their workforce internationally, whether it be bringing an overseas candidate over to the UK, or transferring a UK employee to a site in another jurisdiction. Individuals and businesses must now navigate a more complex set of immigration rules and strict visa requirements. This process can be labour intensive, costly and an unwanted administrative burden.
The points based system introduced by the UK government prioritises skilled workers. On one hand, an obvious benefit towards the skills shortage. However, it can make the process more difficult for lower-skilled or temporary workers whose contributions will still be gratefully received within certain areas of the pharmaceutical sector. Restrictions on UK employees working within the EU also indirectly impacts upon the ability of UK-based companies to collaborate or partner with European counterparts.
The problem extends beyond working professionals. Students, graduates and academics are all impacted, for example with the UK’s decision not to participate in the EU student exchange Erasmus program. A steady stream of international STEM students would be part of the strategic solution to tackle the skills shortage.
Other barriers to immigration
The number of visas granted to individuals moving to the UK fell by 460,000 in 2024. From July to December 2024, the number of workers being granted a Skilled Worker visa fell by 39% compared to this same period in 2023. This followed a significant increase in salary thresholds.19
UK immigration routes are continuing to create opportunities for skilled individuals and employers alike. However, at a time when global recruitment is increasingly important, the attitude towards immigration is at risk of becoming progressively restrictive.
If restrictions continue to be implemented without a corresponding injection of investment into UK grown talent, there is a risk of widening the skills gap even further. Obtaining overseas talent also comes at a price. Upfront costs for UK visas are already up to 17 times higher than other leading science nations.20 With proposals under the UK Government’s recent immigration white paper set out to increase the immigration skills charge by a further 32%, costs may become even more prohibitive and deter global talent away from the UK labour market.21
6. Regulated roles and demand for highly qualified individuals
The pharmaceutical industry is heavily regulated. For good reason, in order to research, manufacture and supply effective, safe and life-changing medicines for those who need them. As at June 2024, 69% of people with roles relating to the manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products held degree level qualifications (or higher). This is in contrast to 39% of the UK workforce as a whole.17 However, with qualification requirements varying across jurisdictions, it can be difficult for skilled professionals in regulated roles to have a flexible and international career.
Layers of regulations and process heavy supply-chains can also deter candidates from commencing a career within life sciences in the first place, as there may be a perception of poor career progression opportunities in an inherently traditional industry. A challenge, therefore, is that there are just not enough applicants. Despite 45% of undergraduate students year on year consistently choosing to study STEM subjects in the UK4, the demand for individuals with these skills is increasing in parallel across a number of sectors. As such, pharmaceutical companies are competing with an ever growing number of employers over this finite talent pool. Furthermore, many in-demand roles require highly skilled applicants who have obtained additional post-graduate qualifications. This time spent in higher education can slow the recruitment timeline, due to a lack of agility to adapt to the ever evolving and expanding job vacancies and role requirements.
There are also reported concerns from HR professionals that the COVID-19 pandemic may have limited opportunities for students and young professionals to develop key skills such as communication, team working and critical thinking during the course of their studies.4 Fewer young people will also have relevant valuable laboratory experience due to the lockdown restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
7. Demands for laboratory space
With rapid growth of the life sciences sector, a shortage of laboratory space in the UK is a significant contributor to the talent shortage. Growing demand for research and development coupled with a lack of lab space, hampers innovation and the sector’s ability to attract both investment and top talent. With the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Oxford, London and Cambridge being the focus of life science activity demand, real estate comes at a premium with rents expected to increase in these locations. From a capacity point of view, many of these facilities simply cannot accommodate a larger workforce. Although things are changing, with other UK locations such as Birmingham and Edinburgh attracting investment and government proposals to promote investment in university towns should help to boost the number and variety of research hubs across the UK. In turn, new hubs could grant companies access to fresh talent pools.
8. Ageing population
An estimated 16% of the life sciences sector workforce is expected to retire over the next 10 years, taking with them valuable years’ worth of experience and skills. With only 4% of the sector’s workforce currently aged under 25,2 the industry will inevitably face a challenge to ‘back-fill’ these existing roles whilst simultaneously recruiting for new positions. The sooner younger applicants can be encouraged to commence their careers within the life sciences sector, the more chance the industry has to soften the impact of the retirement of an ageing workforce. Focussing on alternative routes into the industry, such as apprenticeship programmes, could help to meet urgent technical skills needs.
Linked to this is another current hot topic regarding the growing impact of generational differences on working practices and attitudes across the workplace more generally. For the first time, five generations are now working side by side. Each generation has distinct values, expectations, aspirations and life experiences, that employers will need to adapt to in order to attract and retain talent. For example, Gen Zs (born 1995 to 2010) are typically more focussed on work/life balance over career progression. But this does not mean a lack of ambition. Financial security is also increasingly important for Gen Zs and millennials (born 1981 to 1995) alike.22 In contrast, generation X (born 1961-1980) are more likely to be loyal to a profession or a work place, but have concerns regarding job security.23 A multi-generational workforce can be a huge benefit and employers would be wise to embrace ‘age diversity’ and the unique skills and experiences that each generation brings. However, some thought has to go into shaping and fostering an intergenerational culture that plays to the strength of the workforce as a whole.
One thing is clear, there is no one factor driving the skills gap in the life sciences sector, and indeed across other UK industries. The third article in our series will explore what employers can do to start to tackle the talent challenges they may be facing.
For more information on how we can support you to support your employees, please contact Manon Rattle or another member of the Employment Team.
| Other articles in the series |
| 1. Introduction to the hiring dilemma |
| 2. The talent tug-of-war - Why life sciences faces a skills shortage |
| 3. Unlocking talent - Employment strategies for hiring |
| 4. Talent without borders - Immigration solutions to close the talent gap |
| 5. The science of hiring - Practical and legal considerations for employers |
References
1 Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, Independent Report, R&D skills supply and demand: long-term trends and workforce projections, published 29 May 2025, accessed 30 July 2025
2 ABPI Publications, Life Sciences 2035: Developing the Skills for Future Growth, published 12 March 2025, accessed 30 July 2025
3 Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, Independent Report, What works to attract and retain people into R&D careers, published 10 February 2025, accessed 30 July 2025
4 ABPI Publications, How skill requirements are changing, published 8 June 2023, accessed 30 July 2025
5 The Timewise - Flexible Jobs Index 2023, accessed 30 July 2025
6 The Timewise - Flexible working for all, published July 2024, accessed 30 July 2025
7 Business.gov.uk, Invest in the UK, Healthcare and life sciences, accessed 30 July 2025
8 Gov.uk News Story, More women to be supported back into STEM jobs in Government-backed training, published 11 February 2023, accessed 30 July 2025
9 2025 talent trends sector report by Randstad enterprise
10 Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, Official Statistics, Bioscience and health technology sector statistics 2021 to 2022, updated 8 May 2024, accessed 30 July 2025
11 Universities UK, Publications, Jobs of the future, updated 1 October 2024, accessed 18 June 2025
12 Forbes, Advisor, Business, UK Remote and Hybrid Working Statistics 2025, updated 3 June 2025, accessed 30 July 2025
13 s|three, Insights and research, The future of work, Now it’s time for employers in STEM to be flexible, published 7 July 2022, accessed 30 July 2025
14 2023 talent trends sector report by Randstad enterprise
15 UKTN, UK tech firms lead way for offering hybrid working, published 26 May 2022, accessed 30 July 2025
16 New Scientist Jobs, The New Scientist 2024 Global Talent Trends and Insights Report, published 20 June 2024, accessed 30 July 2025
17 Department for Education, Skills England: Sector skills needs assessments Life Sciences, published 2 June 2025, accessed 18 June 2025
18 PwC, Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2024, published 24 June 2024, accessed 30 July 2025
19 The Migration Observatory, Migration statistics show dramatic fall in visas granted in 2024, published 27 February 2025, accessed 30 July 2025
20 Reuters, High UK visa costs deter international scientists and engineers, published 15 April 2025, accessed 30 July 2025
21 Home Office, Policy Paper, Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper, published 12 May 2025, accessed 30 July 2025
22 https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/work/genz-millennial-survey.html
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