Recommendations for workforce development in regenerative medicine biomanufacturing

• Published in: Stem cells translational medicine Vol. 10; no. 10; pp. 1365 - 1371
• Main Authors: Green, Gary M., Read, Russ H., Lee, Sengyong, Tubon, Thomas, Hunsberger, Joshua G., Atala, Anthony
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.10.2021; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Bioengineering; Biotechnology; Career advancement; COVID-19; Curricula; Employability; Employee development; Employers; Employment; Engineering; Labor market; Labor supply; Manufacturing; Medicine; Operations management; Pandemics; Product development; R&D; Regenerative medicine; Research & development; Skilled labor; Skilled workers; Skills; Workforce
• ISSN: 2157-6564; 2157-6580; 2157-6580
• DOI: 10.1002/sctm.21-0037

In its 2019 report, The Skilled Technical Workforce: Crafting America's Science and Engineering Enterprise, the National Science Board recommended a national charge to create a skilled technical workforce (STW) driven by science and engineering. The RegenMed Development Organization (ReMDO), through its RegeneratOR Workforce Development Initiative, has taken on this challenge beginning with an assessment of regenerative medicine (RM) biomanufacturing knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed for successful employment. While STW often refers only to associate degree or other prebaccalaureate prepared technicians, the RM biomanufacturing survey included responses related to baccalaureate prepared technicians. Three levels of preparation were articulated in the research: basic employability skills, core bioscience skills, and RM biomanufacturing technical skills. The first two of these skill levels have been defined by previous research and are generally accepted as foundational—the Common Employability Skills developed by the National Network of Business and Industry Associations and the Core Skill Standards for Bioscience Technicians developed by the National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce. Fifteen skill sets addressing the specialized needs of RM and related biotechnology sectors were identified in the ReMDO survey, defining a third level of KSAs needed for entry‐level employment in RM biomanufacturing. The purpose of the article is to outline the KSAs necessary for RM biomanufacturing, quantify the skills gap that currently exists between skills required by employers and those acquired by employees and available in the labor market, and make recommendations for the application of these findings. A study of workforce development for the skilled technical workforce in regenerative medicine (RM) conducted by the RegenMed Development Organization has articulated the knowledge, skills, and abilities' needs and the current skills gap. As RM evolves from R&D, to clinical translation, and ultimately scaled biomanufacturing, the research has implications for community college and university faculty development and curriculum development and for educational and workforce policy.