Queensland Life Sciences Industry Report 2012 (PDF, 3.5MB)

Research organisations reported that, on average, 47.3% of their
workforce held a PhD (median figure was 42.5%). A 2008 survey
by the Australian Society for Medical Research generally supports
these findings. In this survey, 39% of all staff, and 65% of research
staff in medical research institutes and university departments
were said to have held a PhD. 34
The percentage of PhD qualified personnel reported by companies
in the current survey varied considerably, but the overall average
was 19% (median 4%). This is comparable with data from a
pharmaceutical industry survey undertaken by Medicines Australia
in 2009, which revealed that 5% of company staff held a PhD and
14% held a Masters degree. 35 41% of companies reported no PhD
qualified personnel, 19% reported that over half of their workforce
was PhD qualified and 3.6% of companies reported that all of their
staff had a PhD. Those with a high proportion of PhD qualified staff
(›70%) were typically either small, start-up biopharmaceutical
companies spun-out of Queensland research organisations or
service providers/industry consultants.
The Australian Council for Educational Research reported in 2008
that private sector employers did not particularly value nor seek
personnel qualified with research PhD or Masters degrees in
the mathematics and science fields, and instead sought degree
and honours graduates. 36 53.6% of persons employed in the ABS
industry category of Professional, Technical and Scientific Services
in 2010 were tertiary qualified, compared to 23.0% of the general
population. 37 However, the typical level and type of qualification
held by an employee will vary depending on the stage of company
development. 38,39 Overall, tertiary qualifications in the Australian
workforce are becoming more prevalent with 24% of workers (aged
15-64) holding a degree in 2011 compared to 17% in 2001. 40
6.4 Predicted Skill Gaps
6.4.1 Skills Gaps — All Respondents
Survey participants were asked to nominate anticipated skills
gap(s) over the next five years from a list of 15 options (including
an ‘Other’ category). A total of 132 responses were received and
the proportion of responses for each category was expressed
as a percentage of this total (Figure 8). The most common
expected skills gaps were in commercialisation (11%), business
development (11%), and chemistry (10%). 6% of respondents did
not anticipate any skill shortages over the period.
Figure 8: Predicted skill gaps to emerge over the next five years
(2012-2016) (132 respondents)
‘Manufacturing or other trade skills’ (9%) ranked fourth and
further interrogation of those responses revealed a range of skills
expected to be in high demand, including:
1. all general trades e.g. electricians, plumbers, construction,
electrical fitter, boiler makers, steel fabricators, welders,
machinists (5 respondents);
2. production and production engineering (3 respondents);
3. electronics (2 respondents);
4. upholstery skills (2 respondents in the medical devices and
equipment subsector);
5. pharmaceutical dose form operators — e.g. tableting, injectable
dose room experience (2 respondents); and
6. a range of other skills each nominated by a single respondent:
GMP cell culture production
rapid prototyping
32 OECD (2012) Measuring Innovation: a New Perspective; accessed 11th July 2012; www.oecd.org/document/10/0,3746,en_2649_34273_45155146_1_1_1_1,00.html
33 Statistics New Zealand, NZ Bioscience Survey 2011.
34 Schofield, D., (2009) ‘Planning the Health and Medical Research Workforce 2010-2019’, Australian Society for Medical Research.
35 The Australian Pharmaceutical Industry: Winds of Change, Report of the 2009 Medicines Australia Member Economic Survey
36 Edwards, D., and Smith, T.F. (2008) ‘Supply, demand and approaches to employment by people with postgraduate research qualifications
in science and mathematics’, Australian Council for Educational Research.
37 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 6227.0.30.001 — Survey of Education and Work, Australia 2010
38 The Allen Consulting Group, (2010) ‘Victorian biotechnology industry skills review’, Report to the Victorian Department of Innovation,
Industry and Regional Development.
39 OECD (2009), “Tertiary level educational attainment for age group 25-64”, Education: Key Tables from OECD, No. 3.
40 Australian Bureau of Statistics 6227.0 — Education and Work, Australia, May 2011.
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