The current gap in specialist skills and qualified personnel essential for UK medicines manufacturing is holding back the sector’s SMEs, according to the latest research from Cogent Skills.
Plugging these gaps is made more complicated by skills reforms such as changes to qualifications, funding rules and apprenticeship standards alongside local labour market variations and the increasing demand for digital and AI competencies.
Medicines Manufacturing SME Skills Outlook was funded by the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) and managed by Innovate UK to provide practical, employer-led intelligence to inform skills interventions in medicines manufacturing at a time of significant change and policy transition.
The most acute capability gaps were identified in the commercial (24%), research and development (20%) and new technology (15%) business areas, while specific skills pressures for SMEs highlighted by the research included:
- Skills gaps in specialist roles, including quality assurance/quality control, regulatory and process engineering roles.
- Graduate and early-career professional readiness – including interpersonal skills – for good manufacturing practice (GMP) environments.
- The shift towards automation and data-enabled manufacturing which requires broader digital literacy across scientific and technical roles.
- A growing need for cross-functional capabilities, e.g., multi-skilling and whole-business awareness.
Fay Treloar, Head of Skills – Life Sciences at Cogent Skills, said: “Our research shows that workforce capability is the foundation for life sciences and medicines manufacturing.
“Therefore, to ensure take-up of the latest technologies and the ability for SMEs to scale and attract investment, the sector’s industrial strategy and skills reforms need to recognise the skills and competencies necessary for success.”
The report contains a range of practical recommendations, including:
- Making apprenticeship pathways more accessible to SMEs through lighter administrative requirements, flexible support and shared cohorts to overcome scale barriers.
- Introducing short, modular, GMP-ready micro-credentials covering areas such as aseptic behaviours, documentation discipline and deviation prevention, designed to fit around production schedules.
- Expanding access to shared or regional clean-room training facilities, or equivalent mobile and virtual provision, so that SMEs can develop sterile-environment competence without building infrastructure independently.
- Developing structured cross-functional development routes, including rotations and internal placements linking R&D, technology transfer, manufacturing and quality functions.
- Creating a clearer training support offer for SMEs, with better signposting and practical guidance on funding and support options.
Cogent Skills worked directly with employers to ensure the research reflected day‑to‑day operational realities and produced clear, practical insights.
Treloar added: “Although the life sciences sector is widely recognised as a priority growth industry, there has been limited, granular evidence on how UK medicines manufacturing employers, particularly SMEs, experience the skills system in practice, how it supports workforce development and where there are operational frictions.
“Therefore, this research project supports delivery of the Life Sciences Sector Plan’s workforce ambitions, strengthens the evidence base for future investment in specialist provision and helps identify approaches that build scale and accessibility for SMEs.”
Download the full report here.
