Hiring in Life Sciences Up Globally

Life sciences hiring in the third quarter was up, according to the ZRG Partners Global Life Science Hiring Index. But unless workers were employed in Europe, Asia or Africa, they probably didn’t notice; the Americas actually saw a decrease in hiring that bucked the otherwise positive global trend.

Asia Pacific drove a 20 percent increase in hiring, while Europe/Middle East/Africa pushed a 10 percent hiring increase in the life sciences industry in Q3. The Americas saw a 2 percent decline in hiring. The index shows the good news in the Americas stemming from a 23 percent increase in hiring in life sciences research and development; all other work roles – sales and marketing, IT, finance, general and executive – saw drops in Q3 hiring.

Pharma, biotechnology and medical device and supply helped push the hiring increases, but outsourcing and services showed flat hiring.

See the entire article at Mass High Tech.

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Georgia vying for biotech facility

Georgia is said to be competing for a biotech development that could employ at least 1,000 in metro Atlanta, people familiar with the deal said. The Peach State is among several vying for what might be a vaccine or pharmaceutical manufacturing operation that could locate on more than 100 acres, Atlanta Business Chronicle has learned.

Full article at Atlanta Business Journal: State vying for biotech facility.

The potential development could add to the region’s biotech credentials, already enhanced by hosting the 2009 BIO International Convention, the world’s largest bio conference,in May.

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Moving Careers From Manufacturing To Biotech

  48 year old makes move from manufacturing to biotech

From the Charlotte Observer: Ex-Pillowtex worker retrained for biotech.

It's nice to see someone taking the attitude of, "If you think you can, then you can."

[Randy] Crowell spent 20 years at the mill as an electrician and electronics specialist. He worked two other jobs after Pillowtex but was laid off from one of them.

Crowell relocated to San Antonio, Texas, in 2005 to be near his daughter and a grandson who had severe birth defects. After being unable to find a job in Texas, he decided to take biotech classes at a community college to earn an associate degree. When his grandson's health improved, Crowell returned to North Carolina last fall, moving to China Grove.

He was hired at the campus in February and works as a lab technician handling DNA sequencing for the David H. Murdock Research Institute, the nonprofit group that owns and runs the campus Core Lab. ...

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