Developing Technician Skills for Emerging Industries: Lessons from the Advanced Therapies Sector in the UK

Abstract

This report examines the barriers to apprenticeship uptake in the Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) sector, and how they might be overcome. Building on previous work, the report documents evidence that while ATMP employers are planning to make more use of specialist technicians as they commercialise their activities, organisations are not used to taking on apprentices and support is required to embed apprenticeship thinking in the sector. It is recommended that a partnership be established between the relevant employers, supported and facilitated by external funding, thereby enabling the organisations in question to amalgamate demand and coordinate their apprenticeship training activity. Lessons are drawn for policy-makers seeking to support other parts of advanced manufacturing where firms need to acquire skilled technicians in order to operate and maintain new manufacturing technologies.