Tracking the right talent
Over the years, biotechnology industry in Indiahas become more application oriented. The changed approach has made it necessary to look for a workforce that is not just academically well qualified but also multi-skilled. With this new criteria, tapping the right talent has become more challenging. However, biotech players are well aware of the developments in the industry and have their own plans and methods to sail through this changing scenario.
Current trends
Though finding a candidate who would fulfill all the requirements of a biotech company is considered a difficult task, nowadays, social media has become a platform to search for the right recruit for a company. “As in any other industry, social media has changed the hiring landscape in the biotech industry too. For mid-level and senior level positions, Linkedin is one of the best options. At the entry level, we prefer interns from Biotech Consortium India Ltd. (BCIL). Here talented people are screened and can be trained,” says Anu Acharya, Chief Executive Officer, Mapmygenome.
 “The modern day employers seek more skills in the candidate that go beyond the academic skills.”Satish Khanna Former Group President, Lupin-India Director, Valmax Corporate Service |
Satish Khanna, Former Group President, Lupin-India and Director , Valmax Corporate Service informs, “Just like any sector, even biotech sector has two levels of hiring, the entry level and the mid-senior management level. In case of entry level hiring, recruiters prefer candidates with educational background in bio-sciences (microbiology, biotechnology, biochemistry and so on).”
Khanna adds, “These candidates usually are for the R&D teams of the company where academic excellence in bioscience is given highest preference. However, modern day employers seek more skills in the candidate that go beyond the academic skills. Unfortunately, Indian courses till date do not sharpen candidates’ managerial skills or skills to apply acquired knowledge in real life market scenarios. Even teachers are not updated about the current trends and developments of the industry to share it with their students. Some top institutes have realised this gap and have started upgrading their curriculum as per the need of the recruiters but the proportion of skilled talent is still very less. This is one of the reasons that employers have started giving preference to students who have US or European degrees as they have an extra edge over Indian candidates.”
Khanna also pointed out that realistically 100 per cent recruitment of students with international qualification is not possible and thus every batch of new recruits is usually a blend of students from Indian and international institutes at the entry level. He informs, “When it comes to mid and senior level designations, most of the biotech companies prefer professionals who have worked in the US or European environment and are willing to relocate to India. ”
In quest of talent
 “As in any other industry, social media has changed the hiring landscape in the biotech industry too.”Anu Acharya Chief Executive Officer, Mapmygenome |
Locating talent needed for different branches of biotech, that too in different regions of the country, is an uphill task for biotech recruiters. Acharya explains, “Locating talent with perfect match of skill sets is not easy, given the number of sub-domains, platforms, and technologies available. Entry-level people often take quite some time to fit in, and people with one to two years experience also require thorough grooming.”
Though multi-skilled candidates are the preferred choice for any biotech company, finding a complete package is a rare phenomenon. However, in many instances, companies have an array of roles where each candidate might require different skill sets. In such cases, company management can employ a mechanism wherein exchange of skills among employees can be facilitated.
According to Khanna, in India, qualified talent is available in abundance but is difficult to find. He points out that students have a strong academic background but lack skills to apply knowledge in real life market scenario. Khanna says, “The entire pool of talent cannot comprise candidates with international degrees or from top institutes of the country. Thus, the pool of the talent in any team is typically a blend of students from Indian and international institutes where the skilled talent helps in training the rest of the team by sharing knowledge. In-house activities and workshops are also conducted on a regular basis by many companies to create a skilled labour force. Companies nowadays are taking proactive approaches to facilitate this process, as business management does boil down to talent management.”
Tie ups with educational institutes
Educational institutes are perhaps the most apt places for sourcing the necessary workforce. Grooming a newly recruited employee to become a productive contributor to the company is an expensive process. It also consumes precious time of the company and its management. If a company ties up with a biotech institute and starts training selected candidates in practical applications, it might save on extra expenses and time, both at the company and industry level.
Acharya opines, “Adopting and recruiting happens in research. Most universities have incubators where students are adopted and their knowledge is of value. Funding is not always easy because biotech education is expensive. Also, project methodology doesn’t work as not every company follows the trending technology. This can leave many students disheartened.”
“This trend is not restricted to just the biotech industry. Progressive companies are doing this for other functions too, where skill-set is extremely critical to the success of business ventures,” informs Khanna.
He adds, “Companies realise that most academic institutes do not develop certain important traits among students that are required for the job, as a part of the curriculum. And thus while associating with the institute for campus recruitment they help fine-tune the curriculum that they would want the institute to include in the course. This helps in grooming the talent as per the employers’ needs. Several industries, including pharma has adopted this practice as since its assists in creating employment for the students. At the same time, companies have to spend less time training the employee once they are on board.”
The mind set for Indians educated abroad is that the conditions for employment in India is a lot better than in the US or Europe. It will be interesting to see whether this fact really applies to the Indian biotech industry.
Acharya says, “Indian biotech industry is in its golden age. India is a democracy and the private sector has a lot more freedom to flourish. However, for practical knowledge, US or Europe may be a better option, especially at the entry level.”
Khanna opines, “Well, the global slowdown has affected opportunities in US and Europe. On the other hand Indian market is growing. This is the status currently but one cannot say that India will continue to offer more opportunities than Europe and US as this slow down could be temporary and things might change possibly in the near future. However, whatever may be the global economic situation, going forward India too will continue to offer exciting opportunities to good talent.”
Too small to offer big?
The global market share of the Indian biotech industry is around two per cent. With such minuscule presence on the world map will this industry be in a position to offer good job opportunities and better future prospects to the employees? “From global aspects, India has always been two or three per cent of the global scene of everything except for few aspects, one of that being the population,” says Khanna. He informs, “Total GDP of India compared to the world is also two-three per cent. In very rare scenarios, India has more than two or three per cent of the world’s total market share. And the biotech industry is no exception either. However, Indian pharma industry, including exports, is more than three per cent of the global market share, whereas biotech industry is relatively less emerged. Now that companies are shifting their focus towards R&D in biotech, the market is expected to grow and offer more opportunities, going forward.”
According to Acharya, most of the bigger organisations have global reach and diversity with multi-talented people from many countries and this is causing a reverse brain drain today. Acharya asserts, “People from developed countries get better opportunities in India today.”
“For companies such as Mapmygenome, this means better access to the local talent pool. However, in India, background is not strong as far as genetics and natural sciences are concerned, they are better at programming. They lack understanding in current trends and basic knowledge. Personal genomics is set to open new avenues for budding biotech professionals.,” she adds.
Together we can
Job aspirants, educational institutes and job providers are the three stakeholders in the process of tapping and grooming talent. To try and become industry ready is the aim of the student and it is expected that educationalists will help them to achieve this goal. To spot and offer an opportunity to such talent and groom him/ her to become a part of a productive workforce should happen at the industry level. Overall, tapping and grooming talent for the biotech industry should be a collective effort. With industry experts predicting a good future for the biotech industry, such collective efforts are bound to ensure growth opportunities for not just the biotech industry but also for the job seekers.
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