UK pharma suffering an ‘exodus’ of new talent
pharmafile | August 31, 2006 | News story | Business Services |Â Â careers, skillsÂ
A new survey of the UK pharmaceutical industry suggests the sector is failing to hire the best talent because of inadequate recruitment techniques and a lack of on-the-job training.
The survey of its peers in other recruitment consultants, carried out by pharmaceutical industry recruitment consultants Blue Pelican Group, found a number of shortcomings in recruitment practices, which could mean the industry is missing out on the best talent.
Senior pharmaceutical market recruitment consultants from 15 of the UK's leading recruitment companies were interviewed, with 86% responding that a lack of candidates deemed to be suitable by the pharma industry was a major problem.
The survey found that demand for experienced candidates with at least two to three years' experience is rising, but that provision for graduate and market entry training is in decline.
The research suggests that in the short-term this will produce a candidate driven market with rapidly increasing salaries, but the long-term effects could be a serious skills shortage.
Recruitment is generally accepted to be more effective if handled by the line-managers who will ultimately work with the new recruits, being more able to fully interpret qualifications and expertise on a CV, but time constraints means that recruitment is frequently being handled by overstretched HR professionals, who may not be best placed to judge the qualities of candidates – it is estimated only half of pharmaceutical HR executives have a science background.
The survey showed more than a third (36% ) of recruitment companies are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the recruiting line managers and that 57% of those questioned reported that skilled candidates are being rejected without adequate feedback because of line managers not being involved in the process, causing real frustration among applicants.
When asked about potential candidates' attitude to the UK pharmaceutical market, the survey showed that 43% of recruitment companies have seen an increase in the number of highly skilled candidates seeking jobs abroad and 14% even reported that some candidates are being interviewed and offered jobs abroad more quickly than receiving an initial response from a UK company.
Commenting on the survey results Oliver Leger, Executive Search Consultant, Pharmaceutical Division, Blue Pelican Group said: "The current market is already experiencing an exodus of highly skilled candidates. Pharmaceutical companies are not investing enough in training programmes; very few visit universities to tempt graduates, and for those who are tempted, there are few openings for them because of lack of training."
Oliver Leger added that the recruitment process is protracted and skilled candidates are getting frustrated, and urged pharma companies to work in greater collaboration with recruitment consultants to improve the situation.
"The pharmaceutical market is still appealing, but the current trends in recruitment processes are damaging. Partnership with a professional recruitment consultant can improve company image as well as efficiency in candidate handling."
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