Biotech Industry Overview

There aren’t that many industries these days which are growing at the rate of the Biotech Industry (in fact, I don’t think I can actually think of any!)  The United States Department of Labor has been working very hard since 2003 to address the needs of the rapidly growing workforce – so if you’re looking for a career with a bright and sustainable future – look no further. Billions of dollars have been (and are still being) invested to address the following issues of the Biotech Industry:

• Image – (it’s not just a white coat and a laboratory you know, there’s much more to it than that)
• Outreach – connecting all sections of the Biotech industry, no matter how diverse
• Recruitment – yes, they certainly need to attract thousands more recruits
• Training – you can’t apply for a job in the Biotech industry if you don’t have the training – right

So what have they been focusing on then, to persuade and enable more and more young people (and even the not so young) that a career in the Biotech industry has their name written all over it? Well, they have a few things up their sleeves:

• Helping alternative labor resources (from industries in a downturn) to gain the necessary skills and knowledge to fill these posts
• Developing alternative training strategies – education and training specific courses, distance learning, apprenticeships, accelerated learning, that sort of thing
• Developing the necessary curricula and tools to deliver this training
• Identifying industry defined career ladders and corresponding curricula (there really are loads of different types of job on offer in the Biotech industry these days)
• Developing ways and means for workers to progress through the industry to higher level positions

The Growth of the Biotech Industry

The growth of the Biotech industry is phenomenal, as an example, the number of positions for Biological technicians (one of the key biotechnology occupations) were firmly expected to grow by more than 28% in the decade between 2004 and 2014, and Biological scientist positions were expected to grow by 17% in the same period.  To put it plainly, there is and will continue to be plenty of jobs on offer for those with suitable attributes – get what I mean?

The Biotech Industry – Science for Life

So what exactly is the Biotech industry, and why is it suddenly becoming so important? At a time when many other industries are in sharp decline and putting millions of people into poverty, why do they need more workers in the Biotech industry. Well, Biotechnolgy has been described, very aptly if I might say so, as the “Science for Life”.

Biotechnology is busily finding new ways to feed, heal and fuel the world – that’s pretty important stuff don’t you think?

Feeding the World – it’s pretty shocking that while some parts of the western world actually discard thousands of tons of food every single week (I know, things go green in the back of the fridge), while millions of people in the world are starving to death.  Biotechnology works hard to improve crop insect resistance, enhance the herbicide tolerance of crops and develop ways of more environmentally sustainable farming methods. They hope to:

• generate higher crop yields
• reduce the numbers of chemicals needed
• produce crops which need fewer pesticides
• produce allergy and toxin free foods

Healing the World – by learning more about our genetic make-up and using natures own medicine cabinet, the Biotechnology industry is looking at ways to:

• reduce the number of cases of infectious diseases
• save the lives of millions of children
• create more precise ways to detect and protect from diseases
• combat the serious illnesses with constantly threaten the developing world
• improve the odds of survival on life-threatening conditions which affect millions of people around the world

Fueling the World – Biotechnology focuses on biological processes like fermentation in enzymes such as yeast and other microbes to become minute, microscopic manufacturing plants. The Biotechnology industry is helping to fuel the world by:

• Lowering the temperatures needed to get your clothes clean (an astonishing $4.1 billion can be saved annually by this seemingly unimportant act)
• Reducing the reliance on, and use of petrochemicals
• Cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 52% by producing biofuels
• Finding ways to cut back on water usage
• Harnessing the full potential of biomass waste products

So you see, the Biotechnology industry has its fingers in lots of pies, some of it is pretty radical stuff, it’s worthwhile, it’s interesting and its a growing industry.

If you’d never thought of a career in Biotech industry, then maybe you should think again!