The Life Science sector is one of CCW’s 10 high-demand sectors. For each of these high-demand sectors, a CCW Sector Leader develops and supports the implementation of a strategy to meet the workforce needs of employers in their sector through targeted expansion and development of career connected learning programs.

The CCW Sector Leader for Life Science is Life Science Washington. (Primary contact: Srikant Iyer, Ph.D., Director of Workforce Development and Education Partnerships, srikant@lifesciencewa.org)

Employers in the Life Science sector share these themes related to workforce development:

  • A major emphasis by companies and biomedical research institutions is on the need for real-world experience developed by working in labs or on production lines along with knowledge of business operations. Many companies require several years of experience, for example, for lab technicians, clinical research associates or scientists. This is a challenge and significant barrier for those seeking entry into the industry and important to address through initiatives put forth in the recommendations section of our sector strategy.
  • A consistent theme emerged around a major need for career awareness of the industrial life sciences industry. Students, teachers, and parents are unaware of the breadth of state companies and career opportunities and talent pipelines are suffering from this lack of awareness.
  • There is a lack of clear education and training pathways, credentials, and skills needed for the diversity of jobs in the industry. The education and workforce system needs to establish a greater diversity of credentials, experiential learning, and recognized pathways (modular layering of on- and off-ramps training) to enable various career paths in response to demand across a wide swath of life sciences employers.
  • There is a need to significantly expand the limited higher education and workforce programs recognized by industry to meet demand. There are a handful of programs at several community colleges and universities that focus on life science careers, but not enough volume for industry to consider them a primary channel to meet demand.
  • Several barriers to sourcing talent from outside the state have been emphasized by industry which are difficult to overcome in the short term, including high cost of living in Greater Seattle, perception of more limited opportunity within the state industry cluster, competition with higher-paying industries, and difficulty incorporating remote work models that are in high demand by top talent.

Employers in the Life Science sector indicate these occupations are high-priority for the expansion or development of education and training programs to meet their hiring needs:

  • Lab Research Technicians & Clinical Research Coordinators
  • Biomanufacturing Technicians
  • Quality Control Associate and Scientist

Interested in learning more about the career connected learning programs that can help meet these needs? You can see a brief overview here.

Take a look at the full 2024 Life Science sector strategy for more detailed information and recommendations.

For more information, please reach out to the Sector Leader using the contact information above. You can also access the original 2023 Life Science sector strategy here, which provides more detailed data and information about the sector.