Medicines Manufacturing Skills and Training Consultation

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ("BEIS") (for the purposes of this Early Engagement Notice acting through the Office for Life Sciences ("OLS")), is conducting this Consultation ("Consultation") on medicines manufacturing skills provision in the UK.

The scope of the Consultation defines skills as "apprenticeships, undergraduate and PHD recruitment and placement; vocational (including technical skills) training and the conduct of schools engagement"; and Medicines Manufacturing ("MM") as "the manufacture of drugs for human use, including vaccines and therapeutics".

This Consultation seeks to gather views on the demand for and the effectiveness of MM training provision, specifically in terms of:

a) meeting the needs of individuals to acquire MM training;

b) meeting the needs of industry in training and recruiting industry ready MM personnel;

c) the appetite of current (and potential) training providers to develop MM training; and

d) views on initiatives to strengthen career pathways into MM.

To this end OLS is inviting individuals and organisations to contribute their views (be "Contributors / Respond") to this Consultation.

Consultation Responses will primarily be collected via a questionnaire, however in addition to Questionnaire Responses, OLS is offering the opportunity for Contributors to attend a one-to-one on-line meeting with OLS to discuss the issues raised by the Consultation in more depth ("Consultation Meetings"). Whilst it is OLS's intention to hold Consultation Meetings with all Contributors who express an interest in so meeting, available appointments will be allocated on a 'first come first served' basis. Organisations requesting a meeting will be asked to complete a brief survey to provide background to inform the Consultation Meeting. No additional weight will be given to Responses received from Contributors attending a Consultation Meeting and additional documents can be submitted by Contributors as part of their Response, to enable the provision of information on aspects of answers which are not easily communicated through the Questionnaire format.

Further information on the Consultation issues and process can be obtained by emailing via the address below.