Life Sciences Talent & Skills Snapshot 2023 – South West

Based on ADLIB internal data and knowledge we have created a Life Sciences sector, talent and skills overview, specifically for the South West.

Sector overview

The South West UK has seen consistent growth of 25% year on year within the life sciences sector. There has also been a fast-growing emergence of innovation hubs in the area with Science Creates, Future Space Bristol, and the newly formed Max-Planck centre for Biology hosting growth scale-ups and starts-ups covering biology, synthetic biology, next-generation sequencing (NGS), therapeutics, microbiome healthcare and diagnostics. Bristol and Bath has a diverse array of life science and healthcare companies.

Within drug discovery, there are established players such as Charles River Laboratories (pharmacology) as well as a number of start-up Biotech’s such as Fluoretiq, Ferryx and Imophoron . There are also a number of up-and-coming cell and gene therapy companies including Exmoor Pharma and CytoSeek. Scientific instrumentation has always had a strong presence, especially from the well-established Oxford Instruments, Rosa biotech and Malvern Panalytical.

Talent overview

With world-leading research teams in the University of Bristol and University of Bath, further supported by the excellent courses with Life and Health Sciences at the University of West of England and Bath Spa University, the area is abundant with talent graduating locally. The University of Bristol sees over 6000 graduates each year within life sciences and health sciences, closely followed by the University of Bath, with more than 5000 Science graduates yearly. With lower living costs than the traditional Life Science hubs of Oxford and Cambridge, Bristol and Bath surroundings appeal to both undergraduates and more experienced Scientists.

Skills in demand

The area has seen a constant demand over the past 12 months across a wide range of disciplines, including Molecular Biology, Biomedical Science, Clinical Science, Protein Science, Quality Control, Regulatory and Laboratory Operations.