Arizona bioscience workforce strategy: preparing for the future

              Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle) does not endorse or recommend particular companies, products, services, or technologies, nor does it endorse or recommend financial investments and/or the purchase or sale of securities. Battelle makes no warranty or guarantee, express or implied, including without limitation, warranties of fitness for a particular purpose or merchantability, for any report, service, data, or other information provided herein. Copyright 2003 Battelle Memorial Institute. Use, duplication, or distribution of this document or any part thereof is prohibited without the written permission of Battelle Memorial Institute. Unauthorized use may violate the copyright laws and result in civil and/or criminal penalties.







Arizona Bioscience Workforce Strategy: Preparing for the Future







Prepared by: Technology Partnership Practice Battelle Memorial Institute







October 2003







Table of Contents



Page Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................ES-1 Introduction......................................................................................................................................1 State-Specific Needs for Bioscience Workforce Development .................................................2 Project Focus and Methodology ................................................................................................3 Demand for Bioscience Workers in Arizona ...................................................................................5 Key Findings..............................................................................................................................6 A Closer Look at Survey and Interview Results by Occupational Category.............................9 Research Job Category.......................................................................................................10 Laboratory Technician Category .......................................................................................11 Production Job Category....................................................................................................14 Management Support Category .........................................................................................17 Inventory of Bioscience Educational Activities in Arizona ..........................................................21 Recent Trends in Bioscience Graduates ..................................................................................21 Bioscience Developments Throughout the Educational Pipeline............................................26 K-12 Supply-Side Factors..................................................................................................26 Community Colleges Supply-Side Factors........................................................................29 Four-Year Degree Level ....................................................................................................30 Graduate Degree and Professional Development ..............................................................32 Key Challenges ........................................................................................................................32 Strategic Assessment of Arizona's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats..............35 Situational Analysis .................................................................................................................35 Strengths ............................................................................................................................35 Weaknesses ........................................................................................................................37 Opportunities......................................................................................................................39 Threats................................................................................................................................41 Summary ..................................................................................................................................42 Bioscience Workforce Development Benchmarking Analysis for the State of Arizona...............43 Introduction..............................................................................................................................43 Purpose of Benchmarking..................................................................................................43 The Benchmarking Set.......................................................................................................43 Defining the Focus on Bioscience Workforce Development ............................................44 Structure of the Analysis....................................................................................................45 State Experiences in Bioscience Workforce Development Efforts .........................................45 Use of Strategic Assessments of Bioscience Workforce Needs ........................................45 Types of Students Served...................................................................................................46 Extent of Program Articulation and Program Linkages ....................................................47







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(continued) Page Approach to Development of Curriculum .........................................................................48 Role of Internships and Other Experiential Learning Activities .......................................49 Linkages with Economic Development Efforts of States and Regions .............................50 Coordinated Program Development ..................................................................................51 Leading Program Efforts Found Across the Continuum of Education....................................52 Secondary Education/Career Development Efforts ...........................................................52 Community College Best Practices ...................................................................................53 Four-Year Degree Level ....................................................................................................54 Graduate Degrees and Professional Development.............................................................55 Summing Up--Lessons Learned .............................................................................................56 Keys to Success..................................................................................................................56 Barriers to Overcome.........................................................................................................57 Strategic Issues...................................................................................................................58 Strategic Bioscience Workforce Development Initiatives for Arizona .........................................59 Next Generation Approach ......................................................................................................59 Vision and Mission ..................................................................................................................60 Strategies and Actions..............................................................................................................61 Strategy One.......................................................................................................................64 Strategy Two......................................................................................................................70 Strategy Three....................................................................................................................75 Strategy Four......................................................................................................................79 Strategy Five ......................................................................................................................81 Moving Toward Implementation .............................................................................................85 Critical Actions ..................................................................................................................85 Immediate Actions .............................................................................................................86 Summary ..................................................................................................................................87 Appendix A: Survey Methodology........................................................................................... A-1 Appendix B: Arizona Bioscience Workforce Needs Assessment Survey.................................B-1 Appendix C: Key Job Functions................................................................................................C-1 Appendix D: Bioscience Related Degrees................................................................................ D-1 Appendix E: Bioscience Workforce Case Studies .................................................................... E-1







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Table of Contents



(continued) Page







List of Figures



Figure 1: Definition of Biosciences...............................................................................................3 Figure 2: Methodology for Strategy Development .......................................................................4 Figure 3: Category Share of Bioscience Workforce......................................................................6 Figure 4: Frequency of Occupational Categories Employed by Bioscience Employers Responding to Survey ...............................................................6 Figure 5: Distribution of Bioscience-Related Degrees in Arizona and the United States, 2000?2001 ......................................................................................23 Figure 6: Percent Change of Bioscience-Related Degrees Relative to the United States, 1995?1996 to 2000?2001 ...........................................................24 Figure 7: Bioscience-Related Degrees Awarded for Arizona and the United States, 1995?1996 to 2000?2001 ...............................................................25







List of Tables



Table 1: Table 2: Table 3: Table 4: Table 5: Table 6: Table 7: Survey Results for Job Categories .................................................................................7 Frequency Distribution of Employer Interest in Educational Requirements by Job Function ..................................................................8 Job Functions in Research Job Category .....................................................................10 Job Functions in Laboratory Technician Category......................................................12 Job Functions in Production Job Category ..................................................................15 Job Functions in Management Support Category........................................................17 Arizona Bioscience-Related Degrees, 2000?2001 ......................................................22







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(continued) Page Table 8: Table 9: Distribution of Bioscience-Related Degrees in Arizona and the United States...........22 Total Bioscience-Related Degrees Awarded, 1995?1996 to 2000?2001 ....................23







Table 10: Bioscience-Related Degrees Awarded between 1995?1996 to 2000?2001 ................24 Table 11: Total Bioscience-Related Degrees Awarded, 1995?1996 to 2000?2001 ....................26 Table 12: Summary of Proposed Strategies and Actions with Priorities and Time Frames ........62 Table 13: Blending of Skill Sets Across Bioscience Research Laboratory and Clinical Laboratory Science.........................................................................................69







vi







vii







Executive Summary



The biosciences are emerging as an important driver for economic growth and improved quality of life in Arizona. Fueled by major new public and private investments in the state's bioscience research base, Arizona is well on its way to establishing a critical mass of research needed for advancing new health care technologies and breakthrough therapies for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, as well as for fostering bioscience industry development. Given the focus on growing the bioscience cluster in Arizona and the importance of talent pools for the success of that effort, a coalition of education and government leaders recognized that the time is ripe for Arizona to take stock of its position in bioscience workforce development and put in place a strategic approach for addressing identified needs and opportunities for bioscience workforce development in the state. The sponsors of this effort are Maricopa Community Colleges in collaboration with the Arizona Department of Commerce, Pima Community College, Yavapai College, and the Flinn Foundation. These sponsors retained the Technology Partnership Practice of the Battelle Memorial Institute to assist in preparing this workforce development strategy. Battelle's efforts were guided by a Project Advisory Group composed of representatives of education, industry, and government. This strategic assessment of Arizona's bioscience workforce development is focused on developing a fact-based understanding of Arizona's demand for bioscience workers across the bioscience cluster and how it is aligned with the state's current capacity to generate trained bioscience workers. The study takes into account the workforce needs across the broad range of bioscience subsectors found in Arizona's bioscience cluster, rather than being limited to only one particular subsector. The study also looks comprehensively across bioscience occupations, with the exception of those directly involved in clinical care, such as physicians, nurses, and other clinical care providers. These occupations are excepted because other efforts to study and address shortages in nursing and clinical care are already under way. Mostly, an understanding of the bioscience occupations outside of clinical care has been missing. Critical to the strategic assessment was a strong outreach to industry and educational institutions, including an extensive bioscience labor demand survey, in-depth one-on-one interviews with bioscience executives across the wide range of bioscience subsectors, interviews with higher educational institutions and state educational agencies, and three focus group meetings held across the state with industry representatives and educational providers.







"The next generation of workforce development policies must engage the private sector and the entire public-private enterprise of training and education, starting in elementary and secondary school and continuing through college and working life. In this vision, workforce policies no longer address the "second chance" systems as they have in the past, but they are customized to the needs of individuals and employers and are linked closely to the economic priorities of states and communities." National Governor's Association, "A Governor's Guide to Creating a 21st-Century Workforce," State Leadership in the Global Economy Task Force, page 12, 2002.







ES-1







ARIZONA CAN BE POSITIONED FOR "NEXT GENERATION" WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES



Arizona has an opportunity to put in place a "next generation" workforce development approach that aligns in a more fundamental and sustainable manner the demand for bioscience workers across the full spectrum of educational and training providers. The need for such a next generation approach for bioscience workforce development in Arizona clearly emerges from the detailed study of demand and supply factors for bioscience workforce development. While Arizona is expected to experience robust employment growth in bioscience employment across key technical occupations spanning research, laboratory sciences, and production and management support, there is a clear mismatch in the specific areas of demand and key trends in supply.







Substantial New Hiring in the Biosciences Expected for Arizona: The survey of



bioscience employers showed that expected new hires in the next two years will reach 1,202 workers among those responding, a healthy 20 percent of current employment levels (Table ES-1).



Table ES-1: Survey Results for Job Categories



Percent of Expected Hiring to Existing Workers







Job Categories







Number of Existing Workers







New Hires Last Year







Current Vacancies







Expected Hires, 03-05







Research Laboratory Technicians Production-related Management Support







727 1,681 2,083 1,599







89 364 188 232







38 148 78 81







166 535 309 192







23% 32% 15% 12%







Broad Demand for Postsecondary Education for Many Bioscience Positions: A



surprising result from the survey of bioscience employers is that many are seeking workers with at least a bachelor's degree (Table ES-2). While this is not surprising for research scientists or engineers, it is surprising how frequently employers are seeking a bachelor's or higher degree for research lab technicians, engineering technicians, and management support occupations involving marketing/sales, quality assurance, and technical support.







ES-2







Table ES-2: Frequency Distribution of Employer Interest in Educational Requirements by Job Function







Job Function Product R&D Engineer Research Scientist Medical Lab Technician Research Technician Forensics Manufacturing & Production Engineering Technician Process Development Engineer Marketing Sales Technical Support/ Documentation/Logistics Quality Assurance/Validation Regulatory Affairs Health/Bio-Informatics







No Post 2 year Require Hire Direct BA Secondary degree Advanced from required Required required Degree Education 7% 0.03% 76% 29% 77% 94% 77% 74% 41% 77% 39% 80% 10% 33% 66% 20% 57% 45% 56% 43% 34% 67% 67% 48% 64% 82% 15% 28% 53% 80% 64% 91% 78% 75% 71% 53% 79% 29% 29% 8% 6% 7% 10% 7% 7% 35% 53% 19% 53% 62% 98% 88% 23% 100% 90% 70% 50% 90% 53% 44% 95%







Mismatch in Demand and Supply for Bioscience Workers: Despite the promising signs of



job gains in the biosciences, Arizona has some key challenges in aligning supply with demand. Examples of specific areas of mismatch include the following: Laboratory sciences. A significant and growing bioscience occupational area for Arizona is found in laboratory sciences, spanning both health care and research environments. Yet, few educational programs today address this need, and existing programs (especially in the health care laboratory) suffer from low enrollments. Large generation of biology students lacking employable laboratory skills. Arizona stands out in the growth of its biology degrees, particularly at the undergraduate level, growing by 15 percent compared to just 1% nationally. The number of biology-related majors now stands at nearly 900 annually in Arizona. However, these biology students are generally poorly prepared to undertake the hands-on laboratory work required in healthcare and research settings. And the trend is to fewer laboratory instructional experiences for students in Arizona. Lack of educational and training curricula in regulatory affairs and quality assurance for medical devices. Beyond the fact that medical devices are Arizona's largest nonclinical bioscience industry and production workers the largest occupational grouping employed by bioscience employers, there is no active effort to provide training for workers entering that highly regulated environment with specific quality standards. Graduate degree programs in the biosciences are falling just as the demand for postdoctoral scientists in Arizona is soaring. Arizona has recorded a sharp decline in Ph.D. and master's graduates in the biosciences in recent years. Yet, a strong demand for research scientists is ES-3







expected in Arizona in the next several years, with most of the positions to be filled by recent advanced degree graduates. Underpinning these demand and supply mismatches in Arizona are deeper issues that must be addressed, including the following: ? ? ? The disconnect between bioscience employers and educational institutions in sharing information, setting priorities, developing needed programs, and addressing the curriculum Lack of capacity in the biosciences across the educational system, especially for specialized programs and advanced degrees Limited awareness by Arizona residents--particularly school-age youth and those seeking new careers--of the opportunities to pursue bioscience careers, and a need for proactive steps to increase access to these career opportunities, especially among minority populations.







At the same time, as the economic priorities of Arizona are placing a clear emphasis on the bioscience cluster, opportunities exist for Arizona to make workforce development a key driver and contributor to an overall bioscience economic development strategy for the state. Workforce development can provide both a resource for emerging and start-up bioscience ventures in Arizona and an advantage to attract investments and operations from existing bioscience companies, particularly from the West Coast.







KEY FINDINGS FROM BEST PRACTICES



The benchmarking analysis of leading and peer states in bioscience workforce development raised a number of important findings shaping how Arizona can effectively address its strategic needs: ? Significant industry involvement. This is perhaps the most universally held success factor found across programs in the benchmark states. As one program director explained: "Because they work so closely with industry, the students are trained exactly as industry needs them." Broad range of students to be served. Building an effective educational pipeline for the biosciences requires both traditional community college to 4 year degree program linkages as well as non-traditional post-baccalaureate and continuing education courses for those who have already having earned a four-year degree in the biosciences and those in the workforce. New focused efforts needed to build an educational pipeline for the biosciences. Successful program articulation in bioscience career education to bachelor-degree level calls for new types of degree programs at the four-year level. These programs are needed to recognize the value of hands-on skills curriculum offered at the community college level. Challenge of developing curricula for bioscience workforce and career development. Unlike IT certification, biotech lab technicians, biomanufacturing, ag biotech, and biomedical engineering lack national certifications. Given the lack of standardization in defining skills and techniques, it is important to have resources available to support continual development of curricula.







?







?







?







ES-4







?







Difficulties in experiential learning and internships. For bioscience positions, it is often difficult to place students in traditional internship programs because of regulatory requirements and the size of companies. Other approaches to experiential learning and exposure to industry need to be developed, such as having industry instructors, creating pilot facilities, and focusing on capstone projects. Lack of statewide coordination. A patchwork of programmatic efforts with little scale or strategic focus is emerging across the benchmark states, making it difficult to gain resources to support the growth of needed programs. A few states, notably California and Washington, are coming close to addressing this need for coordination.







?







VISION AND MISSION



The vision for Arizona's bioscience workforce development can be summarized as follows: Arizona will succeed in its bioscience workforce development efforts by establishing a demand-driven bioscience workforce approach that broadly emphasizes access to bioscience careers for Arizona residents. The state's mission is that, a decade from now, the outside world will acknowledge the following: Arizona educational and training institutions are recognized as having a highly collaborative partnership with bioscience employers that spans broadly across educational institutions at all levels, serving to Enable Arizona to identify specific occupational and skill needs based on timely information gathering and specific mechanisms that translate employer needs into on-the-ground programs and curricula Reach out to students, parents, and those workers seeking to change careers or advance in the biosciences. The responsiveness and agility of Arizona's advanced bioscience workforce system serve as a competitive advantage for the state not only in helping to grow home-grown Arizona bioscience companies, but in attracting investments from companies outside of Arizona.







ES-5







STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS



Addressing the demand and supply gaps in a systematic and sustainable manner that pinpoints the underlying challenges as well as seizes the economic development opportunities calls for a specific set of strategies and actions for Arizona. Five specific strategies are proposed to accomplish this vision and achieve this mission: ? ? ? ? Strategy One: Advance bioscience career pathways to integrate industry needs for bioscience workforce in a seamless fashion across broad spectrum of educational institutions. Strategy Two: Promote access to bioscience careers and ensure that the bioscience career initiatives serve Arizona's diverse population. Strategy Three: Build capacity across educational institutions for bioscience workforce development that can be broadly shared and leveraged. Strategy Four: Conduct ongoing strategic assessment in a manner that institutionalizes the continued evaluation of bioscience workforce demand and alignment with supply to guide program and curriculum development and advance outreach efforts. Strategy Five: Establish an economic development focus that positions bioscience workforce development as a proactive tool for economic growth for the state.







?







Altogether 26 specific action steps have been identified across the five strategic priority areas. Table ES-3 presents these strategies and actions.



Table ES-3: Summary of Proposed Strategies and Actions with Priorities and Time Frames



Strategy Strategy One: Advance bioscience career pathways Actions Establish a statewide bioscience industryeducation council to foster strong partnerships, involving ongoing industry guidance on program offerings and career pathways. Prioritize the development of bioscience programs based on a systematic process that aligns the demand and core skill sets in existing and emerging career pathways with ongoing educational program offerings and curricula. Design 2+2+2 career preparation programs rather than stand-alone degree efforts. Ramp up laboratory sciences across the state in a defined career pathway approach. Address education and training development needs for careers in biomedical production and related management support occupations. Priority Critical Time Frame Immediate







Critical







Near term







Critical Significant Significant







Near term Long term Long term







ES-6







Table ES-3: Summary of Proposed Strategies and Actions with Priorities and Time Frames (continued)



Strategy Strategy Two: Promote access to bioscience careers and ensure that bioscience career initiatives serve Arizona's diverse population Actions Undertake a broad public marketing effort on bioscience careers that raises the public's understanding of bioscience career opportunities and specifically targets students, parents, and guidance counselors. Priority Significant Time Frame Near term







Offer specific bioscience career awareness activities in K-12 involving enriched educational experiences with experiential learning opportunities. Develop specialized approaches, such as broadbased mentorship and extracurricular efforts, to reach out to at-risk minority and economically disadvantaged students from the early grades. Ensure that personalized services for minority, economically disadvantaged, and at-risk students found in K-12 and community colleges are continued as students progress at the four-year and graduate levels. Work with industry to create customized retraining programs for current nonbioscience workers who demonstrate an aptitude to enter bioscience careers. Focus on bioscience skill upgrading for those trained in the biosciences or in existing bioscience positions, including postbaccalaureate programs.







Critical







Immediate







Significant







Near term







Significant







Immediate







Critical







Near term







Significant







Near-term







ES-7







Table ES-3: Summary of Proposed Strategies and Actions with Priorities and Time Frames (continued)



Strategy Strategy Three: Build capacity across educational institutions for bioscience workforce development that can be broadly shared and leveraged Actions Develop a shared, common vocabulary on bioscience workforce terminology. Priority Critical Time Frame Start immediately or as soon as possible, but will be long term Immediate







For identified fields of biosciences, focus on developing industry-driven skill standards translated into core curricula to ensure comprehensive, high-quality, and responsive program efforts. Pursue shared-use approaches for deploying program resources statewide. Dedicate funding for recruitment of topflight bioscience graduate students to Arizona. Develop a clearinghouse capability to broaden communications across students, employers, educational institutions, and parents on bioscience careers, educational opportunities and requirements. Strengthen K-12 math and science programs (Project Lead The Way, enrichment activities, etc.). Strategy Four: Conduct ongoing strategic assessment in a manner that institutionalizes the continued evaluation of bioscience workforce demand and alignment with supply to guide program and curriculum development and advance outreach efforts







Critical







Critical Important Important







Near-term Long term Long term







Critical







Long term







Significant







Immediate







Develop ongoing occupational and skill needs assessment of employers, using regular vacancy surveys, occupational profiling, and other techniques.







On a periodic basis, complete surveys of bioscience workers to learn their educational and training needs. Develop a specialized labor market research capability under the guidance of the bioscience industry-education council. Using the forum of the bioscience industryeducation council, convene regular industryeducation dialogues to discuss trends and issues arising across bioscience fields.







Important







Long term







Significant







Near term







Critical







Immediate







ES-8







Table ES-3: Summary of Proposed Strategies and Actions with Priorities and Time Frames (continued)



Strategy Strategy Five: Establish an economic development focus that positions bioscience workforce development as a proactive tool for economic growth for the state. Actions Priority Critical Develop and market bioscience workforce capacities targeted to specific bioscience industry segments within niche areas of bioscience activity where Arizona has broad-based competitive advantages. Provide matching funds for the development of specific company-based curriculum and program needs to be served through postsecondary institutions based on guarantees of job hires. Establish programs targeted to postdocs serving at Arizona academic institutions as prospective industry scientists and entrepreneurs. Develop a pilot biomanufacturing program in Arizona as a lead investment for targeting recruitment of biomanufacturing facilities to the state. Provide relocation assistance and other services to help in the recruitment of senior business executives and scientists by emerging and startup bioscience firms. Significant Near term Time Frame Immediate







Important







Long term







Important







Long term







Important







Near term







Critical Actions This strategic assessment notes 11 critical actions out of the 26 action steps identified. These critical actions are essential if Arizona is to accomplish its vision of a demand-driven bioscience workforce system that emphasizes access to bioscience careers for Arizona citizens. They include the following: ? ? Establish a statewide bioscience industry-education council to foster strong partnerships, involving ongoing industry guidance on program offerings and career pathways. Prioritize the development of bioscience programs based on a systematic process that aligns the demand and core skill sets in existing and emerging career pathways and with ongoing educational program offerings and curricula. Design 2+2+2 career preparation programs rather than stand-alone degree efforts. Offer specific bioscience career awareness activities in K-12 involving enriched educational experiences with experiential learning opportunities. Work with industry to create customized retraining programs for current nonbioscience workers who demonstrate an aptitude to enter bioscience careers. Develop a shared, common vocabulary on bioscience workforce terminology.







? ? ? ?







ES-9







?







For identified fields of biosciences, focus on developing industry-driven skill standards translated into core curricula to ensure comprehensive, high-quality, and responsive program efforts. Pursue shared-use approaches for deploying program resources statewide. Strengthen K-12 math and science programs (Project Lead The Way, enrichment activities, etc.) Using the forum of the bioscience industry-education council, convene regular industryeducation dialogues to discuss trends and issues arising across bioscience fields.



Develop and market bioscience workforce capacities targeted to specific bioscience industry segments within niche areas of bioscience activity where Arizona has broad-based competitive advantages.







? ? ?



?







Immediate Actions But, as the old adage goes, "actions speak louder than words." It also is important that Arizona seize the opportunity to accomplish "immediate" actions that can be implemented within a 6- to 12-month period to demonstrate progress and build momentum. These six immediate actions are identified as part of this strategic assessment: ? ? ? Establish a statewide bioscience industry-education council to foster strong partnerships, involving ongoing industry guidance on program offerings and career pathways. Offer specific bioscience career awareness activities in K-12 involving enriched educational experiences with experiential learning opportunities. Ensure that personalized services for minority, economically disadvantaged, and at-risk students found in K-12 and community colleges are continued as students progress at the four-year and graduate levels. For identified fields of biosciences, focus on developing industry-driven skills standards translated into core curricula to ensure comprehensive, high-quality, and responsive program efforts. Develop ongoing occupational and skill needs assessment of employers, using regular vacancy surveys, occupational profiling, and other techniques. Using the forum of the bioscience industry-education council, convene regular industryeducation dialogues to discuss trends and issues arising across bioscience fields. Develop and market bioscience workforce capacities targeted to specific bioscience industry segments within niche areas of bioscience activity where Arizona has broad-based competitive advantages.







?







? ? ?







SUMMARY



This strategic assessment is not an end in itself, but a beginning to help Arizona move forward. It sets out a baseline and blueprint for engaging more fully the broad stakeholders in Arizona.







ES-10







If Arizona can move forward on these initiatives, and use the demand and supply side intelligence gathered by this study to guide new program developments, then it will have a strong bioscience workforce component to its overall bioscience roadmap effort. This analysis sees Arizona's bioscience workforce development strategy being driven by an understanding of its demand needs and ensuring that the supply generated by educational and training institutions is aligned with these demand requirements. Given the important role that talent pools are playing in advancing the knowledge economy and particularly the biosciences, it is expected that this investment in bioscience workforce development can pay significant dividends in the years ahead, while being realistically balanced by the needs of bioscience employers.







ES-11







ES-12







Introduction



Arizona is on the road to building a strong bioscience cluster. A recently completed Arizona Bioscience Roadmap suggests that, with strong public and private leadership and long-term commitment, Arizona can achieve the following vision in the next 10 years: Arizona is a leading Southwestern State in selective bioscience subsectors, built around world-class research, clinical excellence, and a growing base of cutting-edge enterprises, and supporting firms and organizations. At the heart of this bioscience roadmap is the realization that the biosciences are emerging as an important driver for economic growth and improved quality of life in Arizona. Fueled by major new public and private investments in the state's bioscience research base, Arizona is well on its way to establishing a critical mass of research needed for advancing new health care technologies and breakthrough therapies for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, as well as for fostering bioscience industry development. Without a doubt, having a growing research base provides the "innovation driver" needed for developing and sustaining a thriving bioscience cluster. Given the especially close connections between research discoveries and new product developments in the biosciences, as well as the key role of academic health centers in bridging the gap between basic and applied research through clinical research, it is not surprising that having a growing robust research base is critical to sustaining ongoing bioscience cluster development. An economic impact assessment of the proposed Arizona Bioscience Roadmap actions, amounting to total investments of nearly $1.3 billion, suggests that Arizona can increase its private sector industrial bioscience employment base three-fold over the next 10 years, from growth of existing bioscience employers to new companies formed. This significant growth suggests that workforce development must be an important consideration as Arizona goes forward. So, hand in hand with innovation goes the need for a talent pool of skilled bioscience workers to generate, translate, and put into practice this innovation. At its core, the bioscience sector is a knowledge-based cluster dependent upon the skills of its workers. Bioscience workers are needed to conduct research, translate innovation "The contemporary economic process is driven into product development and improved health by innovation and the rapid economic adoption care techniques, and ultimately to manufacture of innovations, both of which are facilitated by biomedical and other bioscience-related products well-educated and highly trained workers. This and apply technologies for improved health care. is why innovation and human capital are seen Thus, ensuring the availability of an educated, skilled workforce is key to developing and sustaining a highly competitive, robust bioscience cluster over the long term. Those states that effectively address these workforce needs will be in a stronger position to grow and develop their bioscience clusters.



as the limiting factors in the new economy, and it is why the production and expansion of these resources is so important." John Ahlen and Mark Diggs, "The Keys To Economic Growth:Investing in Discovery," Engineering and Entrepreneurship, Capital Resource Corporation, February 2003.







Given the focus on growing the bioscience cluster in Arizona and the importance of a talent pool for the success of that effort, a coalition of education and government leaders recognized that the







1







time is ripe for Arizona to take stock of its position in bioscience workforce development and put in place a strategic approach for addressing identified needs and opportunities for bioscience workforce development in the state. The sponsors of this effort include the Maricopa Community Colleges in collaboration with the Arizona Department of Commerce, Pima Community College, Yavapai College, and the Flinn Foundation. These sponsors retained the Technology Partnership Practice of the Battelle Memorial Institute to assist in preparing this workforce development strategy. Battelle's efforts were guided by a Project Advisory composed of educational, industry, and government representatives. Battelle's Technology Partnership Practice brings a strong understanding of the dynamics and requirements for growing a bioscience cluster, along with proven expertise in technology workforce development, including work in such states as Connecticut, Michigan, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, and Colorado, and was responsible for developing Arizona's Biosciences Roadmap, prepared for the Flinn Foundation and released in December 2002. Battelle brings a well-grounded understanding of the bioscience industry and research base in Arizona and is currently working with the Flinn Foundation and other stakeholders to support ongoing implementation of key initiatives contained in the Biosciences Roadmap, including this effort in workforce development.







STATE-SPECIFIC NEEDS FOR BIOSCIENCE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT



Each state pursuing bioscience development must contend with the following challenges to workforce development: The fast pace of innovation drives new skill development in the biosciences. Following the successful completion of the Human Genome Project, another era of innovation is being unlocked, creating new areas of research and application from bioinformatics to proteomics to tissue engineering. At the same time, progress in microelectronics, robotics, biomaterials, and nanotechnology is establishing new avenues for advancements in medical devices, drug delivery, and surgical practices. In the future, this confluence of events will put serious demands on current educational and training providers to meet this changing skill set to generate qualified workers who meet the specific skill needs of that state's research and industry base. Critical skill shortages can emerge quickly in the biosciences and pose major impediments to industry growth in particular niche areas. For example, developing new "biologic" drugs requires new biopharmaceutical production technologies and skills. Bioscience industry analysts at McKinsey and Company point out the impact of workforce gaps for this growing area of biotechnology: "What is less well understood is the biologics-manufacturing talent shortfall: the industry faces a looming shortage of the highly trained people needed to design, build and operate facilities. Experienced process-development scientists and engineers, validation engineers, quality assurance personnel and plant managers are already in short supply."1 These same dynamics can be true in other niches from medical devices to health care delivery. At the same time, the bioscience sector is very broad and diversified, encompassing research, manufacturing, and service activities; and its demand for workers is correspondingly very diverse, calling for specific technical skills across a spectrum of skill levels.



1







Mallik, A., Pinkus, G., and Sheffer, S. "Biopharma's Capacity Crunch," The McKinsey Quarterly 2002 Special Edition: Risk and Resilience. McKinsey & Company, 2002, pp. 9-11.







2







Despite popular public perceptions, the bioscience workforce is not solely the domain of those few individuals with Ph.D.'s and M.D.'s. It is interesting to note that, nationally, the highest share of employment opportunities in the biosciences is found in production and technician positions, typically requiring associate's and bachelor's degrees. Nationally, production occupations comprise more than 50 percent of occupations found in medical devices, more than 40 percent in the pharmaceutical industry, and more than 30 percent in agricultural chemicals. Even in hospitals, the largest percentage of occupations is found in nursing and health care support occupations. These challenges are not unique to any one state. However, the activities and opportunities for states in the biosciences are not uniform and, in turn, that reflects on the skills being demanded. Some states are best suited to be leaders in medical devices, while others are specializing in agricultural biotechnology or research and testing or drug development. Even within these areas of specialization, there are major differences in niches (e.g., between orthopedic development and surgical instruments in medical devices) that influence the specific skills in demand. These challenges to bioscience workforce development call for responding to the specific needs found within a state, rather than pursuing a one-size-fits-all solution. The specific technologies in the biosciences being advanced will vary, as will the specific niche opportunities being pursued and the mix of bioscience activities found in the state. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for any state's bioscience workforce development, but rather a need to think globally about key trends and best practices, but applied with strong guidance by the local situation.







PROJECT FOCUS AND METHODOLOGY



This strategic assessment of Arizona's bioscience workforce development is focused on developing a fact-based understanding of Arizona's demand for bioscience workers and how it is aligned with the state's current capacity to generate Figure 1: Definition of Biosciences trained bioscience workers. The study takes into account the workforce needs across the broad range of bioscience subsectors found in Arizona's bioscience cluster, rather than being limited to only one particular subsector. These bioscience subsectors include hospitals and medical laboratories, medical devices and instruments, drugs and pharmaceuticals, agricultural sciences, and research and testing (Figure 1).



Definition of Biosciences







MANUFACTURING







Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Medical Devices and Instruments Agricultural SERVICES







Hospitals







Medical Laboratories Research and







Sciences Testing The study also looks comprehensively across bioscience occupations, with the exception of those directly involved in clinical care, such as physicians, nurses, and other clinical care providers. These occupations are excepted because other efforts to study and address shortages in nursing and clinical care are already underway. Mostly, an understanding of the bioscience occupations outside of clinical care has been missing.



9/28/2003







9







3







Consequently, the specific occupations examined in this study include the following: ? ? ? ? Laboratory science workers including those involved in medical care, research, and forensics lab activities Research occupations including scientists and product development engineers Manufacturing occupations including production workers, engineering-related technicians, and process development engineers Figure 2: Methodology for Strategy Development Management support occupations including marketing/sales, technical support, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, and health/bioinformatics.



Demanddriven Needs Assessment



Secondary Data, Survey & Targeted Interviews







Benchmarking Peer States & Best Practices







Under the guidance of the Project Advisory Group, Battelle undertook a comprehensive methodology involving several steps for developing a bioscience workforce development strategy (Figure 2): ?







Strategic Assessment: SWOT & Focus Groups Inventory of Bioscience Educational Programs & Initiatives







Strategy Development







Assessing the Demand for Bioscience Workers in Arizona, reporting on the results from Battelle's in-depth demand analysis including survey, data analysis, interviews, and focus groups Inventorying Educational Activities, reporting on the trends in bioscience workforce graduates and emerging trends in educational offerings for bioscience careers Preparing a Situational Analysis, providing a strategic assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing Arizona in bioscience workforce development Conducting a Best Practices and Benchmarking Analysis, examining how other leading and neighboring states are approaching bioscience workforce development and presenting best practice lessons for Arizona to consider Developing a Strategic Framework and Initiatives, presenting how Arizona can develop a demand-driven bioscience workforce system that emphasizes access to bioscience careers for Arizona citizens.



Broad Range of Survey, Interviews, and Focus Group Discussions Conducted Survey of bioscience organization's labor market demand, with responses from 73 organizations representing 65% of the state's bioscience employment base Detailed one-on-one interviews with executives from broad range of bioscience organizations Extensive interviews with representatives of higher educational institutions and statewide educational organizations to inventory bioscience base Three focus group discussions with industry representatives and educational providers







? ? ?







?







Critical to the strategic assessment was a strong outreach to industry and educational institutions, including an extensive bioscience labor demand survey, in-depth one-on-one interviews with bioscience executives across the wide range of bioscience subsectors, interviews with higher educational institutions and state educational agencies, and three focus group meetings held across the state with industry representatives and educational providers.







4







Demand for Bioscience Workers in Arizona



The heart of this workforce development strategy is to develop an understanding of the demand factors for bioscience occupations across the broad range of bioscience employers in Arizona. The specific demand issues to be examined include the following: ? ? ? ? ? Current position of bioscience occupations in Arizona Future demand for new hires across bioscience occupations Educational requirements for bioscience workers Skill requirements Labor market dynamics.







Gaining these insights into bioscience workforce demand required undertaking several types of analysis: ? Review of occupational data, compiled nationally through the efforts of each state's labor market information office. Unfortunately, lack of data availability from the state government prevented focusing on the level of various occupations employed by bioscience industry subsectors in Arizona. Instead, only occupational employment across all employers was considered, so the review was limited to bioscience research and medical laboratory occupations that are expected to be highly concentrated in the bioscience industry sector.2 Survey of workforce needs of bioscience employers in Arizona. Battelle collected original data using a survey instrument developed in concert with the Project Advisory Group (see Appendices A and B for details of survey methodology and survey instrument) and used a comprehensive database of bioscience organizations derived from Dun & Bradstreet. Substantial efforts were made to ensure a high degree of response, including both a broad mailing to the state's bioscience employers and extensive follow-up phone calls to all bioscience employers with more than 10 employees. Altogether, 73 survey responses were obtained, representing 65 percent of total employment in the biosciences in Arizona. One-on-one interviews with CEOs and senior officials from selective bioscience companies to learn more about the hiring experiences of bioscience employers, specific skill needs in demand, and industry's knowledge and opinion of existing bioscience workforce training initiatives and activities. The focus was on gaining more insights into specific bioscience industry subsectors and their hiring needs.







?







?







Battelle was seeking information developed as part of the Occupational Employment Survey which cross-walks occupations by industry classifications, often referred to as the "occupational matrix." However, after repeated discussions with the state's Labor Market Information Office to obtain these data by broad bioscience subsectors, these data were not made available to Battelle.







2







5







KEY FINDINGS



Mix Across Occupational Categories: Based on the survey of bioscience employers, the



leading bioscience occupational categories in Arizona today are found in production occupations, followed by laboratory technicians and management support positions (Figure 3).



Figure 3: Category Share of Bioscience Workforce







Laboratory Techs 28%







Research 12%







Management Support 26%







Production 34%







Prevalence of Occupations Across Bioscience Employers: Not all occupations are found as



frequently across bioscience employers. For instance, research scientists and engineers are found among only 36% of the bioscience employers responding to the survey, while management support occupations are found among 71 percent of the respondents (Figure 4). The prevalence of bioscience occupations across establishments should be examined in concert with the level at which people are employed in those occupations. This reveals that laboratory tech occupations are not only prevalent across establishments, but also are one of the largest occupations in terms of employment.







Figure 4: Frequency of Occupational Categories Employed by Bioscience Employers Responding to Survey



100% 90%







80%







70%







60%







50%







40%







71%



30%







61% 40%







20%







36%







Occupational Specialization: Two







10%







0% occupations-- biomedical engineers and medical Research Laboratory Techs Production Management Support and clinical laboratory technicians--stand out as key occupational specializations for Arizona compared with the nation, based on occupational data compiled by state Labor Market Information Office.







?







The concentration of biomedical engineers in Arizona stands 85 percent higher than in the nation, reflecting the importance of medical device development in the state. It is a small occupation in Arizona with 215 workers. The concentration of medical and clinical laboratory technicians in Arizona stands 41 percent higher than in the nation, with more than 4,900 workers. This strong presence of medical lab technicians demonstrates the importance of hospitals and medical labs in the state.







?







Vacancy Rates: Overall, survey participants indicated that job vacancies account for 6 percent of total bioscience-related employment. Two key job categories--laboratory technicians and



6







management support--account for a large number of unfilled positions. Respondents reported that 9 percent or 148 laboratory tech positions and 5 percent or 81 management support positions are unfilled (Table 1). These levels of vacancies suggest gaps between supply and demand for labor. As the bioscience industry continues to grow, it is paramount that industry be able to find an adequate supply of labor. If vacancies persist, a mismatch between the skills people possess and the skills industry demands will arise.



Table 1: Survey Results for Job Categories



Percent of Job Categories Number of Existing Workers New Hires Last Year Current Vacancies Expected Hires, 03-05 Expected Hiring to Existing Workers







Research Laboratory Technicians Production-related Management Support







727 1,681 2,083 1,599







89 364 188 232







38 148 78 81







166 535 309 192







23% 32% 15% 12%







Expected New Hires: The survey of bioscience employers showed that new hires are expected



to reach 1,202 workers in the next two years, 20 percent of current employment levels. ? The healthcare laboratory technician occupation is not only highly specialized in Arizona, it has the largest number of expected new hires with 341 positions or 27 percent of the current employment level. Bioscience production occupations, including assembly line workers, engineering technicians, and process engineers, have a high number of expected new hires at 309 positions; but, these new hires represent a moderate 15 percent above current production employment levels across those responding to the survey (Table 1). Growing research activity is clearly a major new driver of employment in Arizona. Compared with current employment levels, new hires are expected to reach 47 percent for research lab technicians and 39 percent for research scientists. The actual levels of expected new hires are also impressive, although they not unexpectedly fall below the larger production and healthcare technician occupations, with 160 new hires for research technicians and 132 new hires for research scientists.







?







?







Extrapolated Longer Term Estimates: An earlier economic impact analysis of the state's



bioscience investments and trend analysis of existing bioscience employers, prepared by Battelle, suggests that Arizona can expect an increase of 27,285 new jobs in the biosciences from 2002 to 2012. It is expected that 9,327 of these new jobs will be found in nonclinical bioscience occupations, which were the focus of this study based on the percentage of bioscience







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employment that they comprise.3 The projected increases are 3,430 jobs for bioscience production occupations, 2,610 for management support occupations, 1,766 for laboratory technicians and technologists, and 1,521 for research occupations.4







Educational Levels: The survey of bioscience employers surprisingly revealed that many are



seeking workers with at least a bachelor's degree (Table 2). While this is not surprising for research scientists or engineers, it is surprising how frequently employers are seeking a bachelor's or higher degree for research lab technicians; engineering technicians; and management support occupations involving marketing/sales, quality assurance, and technical support.



Table 2: Frequency Distribution of Employer Interest in Educational Requirements by Job Function







Job Function Product R&D Engineer Research Scientist Medical Lab Technician Research Technician Forensics Manufacturing & Production Engineering Technician Process Development Engineer Marketing Sales Technical Support/ Documentation/Logistics Quality Assurance/Validation Regulatory Affairs Health/Bio-Informatics R&D = research and development







No Post 2 year Require Hire Direct BA Secondary degree Advanced from required Required required Degree Education 7% 0.03% 76% 29% 77% 94% 77% 74% 41% 77% 39% 80% 10% 33% 66% 20% 57% 45% 56% 43% 34% 67% 67% 48% 64% 82% 15% 28% 53% 80% 64% 91% 78% 75% 71% 53% 79% 29% 29% 8% 6% 7% 10% 7% 7% 35% 53% 19% 53% 62% 98% 88% 23% 100% 90% 70% 50% 90% 53% 44% 95%







3







Other key occupations among bioscience employers that were not tallied include nonbioscience administrative staff (secretaries, accountants, human resource, etc.) and clinical care staff (nurses, medical doctors, medical assistants, etc.). 4 See the Arizona Bioscience Roadmap for full details of the economic impact analysis for private sector industrial bioscience jobs. Hospital and medical lab employment growth was estimated by looking at the historical relationship between hospital and medical lab employment growth and population growth in Arizona from 1995 to 2001. The extrapolation is based on comparing the current employment base by occupation reported in the survey for each industry subsector with the remainder put into an "other" category. The employment growth estimate is based on applying these occupational ratios to the projected increase for each sector.







8







Skill Requirements: Interviews with bioscience employers revealed that, while specific



technical skills may vary, specific cross-cutting occupational skills need to be addressed through enhanced and expanded educational offerings. Specific employer needs dictate the technical skills required for bioscience occupations. For instance, medical device manufacturers in Arizona tend to fall into either electrical engineering disciplines or mechanical engineering and materials disciplines, which in turn affects the sets of specific technical skills required. Skill variation is probably greatest across bioscience employers involved in research activities. In the research setting, this variation reaches down to the research lab technician who may be asked to perform very different lab techniques depending upon the type of research activity undertaken. Still, despite these variations in technical skills, what emerges across employers is a need for specific occupational skills. For laboratory technicians, skills in good laboratory practices (GLP) stand out, involving material handling, documentation, safety procedures, and maintenance of equipment and facilities. For production workers and management support, skills in biomedical quality standards and regulatory requirements stand out.







Labor Market Dynamics: There are many conflicting and complex patterns to the labor



market dynamics involving bioscience employers: ? Healthcare lab technicians, for instance, generally have low turnover; but, employers are facing the challenge of an aging workforce with few new graduates in healthcare lab programs. The research lab technician occupation, on the other hand, is growing rapidly but tends to have a high turnover in Arizona because many workers are recent college graduates who often will go back to school or seek better career tracks in different occupations. For research scientists, the majority of new hires in Arizona will be postdoctoral workers, not tenured faculty. These postdocs usually will have a limited employment contract and then will seek other employment opportunities in academia or industry. It is typical for many postdocs to be recent Ph.D. students from overseas--so the ability to secure a foreign visa is critical. In production occupations, the labor market dynamics revolve mostly around a minority population, especially in line production positions, for whom English is a second language. Training in new skills is therefore a challenge.







?







?







?







A CLOSER LOOK AT SURVEY AND INTERVIEW RESULTS BY OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORY



This section presents a more detailed discussion of the survey results, labor market dynamics, and skill requirements by occupational category (See Appendix C for more survey results by job function.).







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Research Job Category Survey Results The research job category is a very specialized class of occupations comprising only two job functions--product research and development engineers and research scientists. Accounting for only a 12 percent share of bioscience labor, it would seem that this is a small category with employment of 727. However, this smallest grouping of bioscience occupations contains two of the larger bioscience job functions--research scientists and product R&D engineers (Table 3).



Table 3: Job Functions in Research Job Category



Research Job Functions Product R&D Engineer Research Scientist Number of Existing Workers 385 342 New Hires Last Year 30 59 Current Vacancies 15 23 Expected Expected Growth Rate, Hires, 03-05 03-05 34 9% 132 39%







Looking to the future, the expected new hires for research scientists stand out. Over the next two years, new hires of research scientists are expected to reach 132 or a hefty 39 percent of current research scientist employment. On the other hand, lower gains in new hires--reaching only 9 percent of current employment or 34 new hires--are expected for product R&D engineers. Examining the number of establishments that will share in this growth reveals that job functions categorized as research are the most specialized among the establishments that participated in the survey. The survey indicated that only 36 percent of responding establishments possess researchoriented occupations. This is the most concentrated employment category. Labor Market Dynamics The vast majority of research scientists to be hired in the next two years will be among university and nonprofit research organizations. This is to be expected, given the major investment by public and private sectors in expanding the state's bioscience research base. Interviews revealed that most of these research scientist positions will be filled by postdoctoral workers who will be filling out research teams. By and large, these postdocs will be recruited from outside of Arizona, with many coming from overseas. One of the major employment issues arising for research organizations is the difficulty of securing visas for these postdoc workers because of the recent tightening of reviews leading to long delays in issuing visas for foreign workers. For private sector bioscience companies engaged in research, industry leaders indicate that, at present, the availability of research job functions is sufficient to meet current industry demand. This is largely because the companies engaged in R&D activities are in the early stages of technology development. Though the research job function plays a very pivotal role in the industry's development, bioscience leaders believe that the level of industry activity is not at a point where the demand for researchers exceeds the existing supply. There is concern that, as the bioscience industry develops in Arizona, the supply of labor will not be able to keep pace with the growth in demand. Some industry executives expressed trepidation that, once the industry reaches a level of specialization and emerges as a major sector of the state 10







economy, the labor market for technically skilled workers may be very tight in Arizona, especially in light of the low level of graduates with postbaccalaureate degrees. However, one potential source of research scientists for Arizona's industry may be the postdocs attracted to the state by research organizations based in Arizona. Industry Requirements Degree Level: Industry leaders usually require advanced degrees for research job functions in bioscience-related fields. To a lesser extent, companies will accept applicants with a bachelor's degree. However, across the educational spectrum, a significant amount of work experience is expected. The following are some of the educational disciplines that employers in Arizona seek: ? ? ? ? ? Analytical Chemistry Computational Chemistry Biochemistry Molecular Biology Microbiology ? ? ? ? ? Organic Chemistry Synthetic Chemistry Bioengineering Pharmacology Cellular Biology.







Technical Skills: Across the spectrum of bioscience companies, a multitude of technical skills are required to fill research job functions. Industry leaders seek applicants that encompass wellrounded capabilities across a broad range of technologies. Effective workers will possess the ability to apply this mix of skills in practical, real-life laboratory environments: ? ? ? ? ? ? Combinatorial chemistry High-throughput drug screening Gene expression: DNA microarray technology Nucleic acid transcription High-performance liquid chromatography Immunohistochemistry, histology ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Biomechanics Near-infrared spectroscopy Chemometrics Scanning probe microscopy Chemical reagent formulation Antibody production Polymerase chain reaction.







Laboratory Technician Category Survey Results Laboratory occupations are the second largest category of bioscience job functions. Responding establishments reported that job functions categorized as laboratory technician account for 1,681 people, or 28 percent of all bioscience positions (Table 4). The survey also indicated that laboratory technical work was among the more prevalent categories of labor found within Arizona. The survey demonstrated that 61 percent of respondent establishments possessed job functions classified as laboratory technician.







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Table 4: Job Functions in Laboratory Technician Category



Laboratory Technician Job Functions Medical Lab Technician Research Technician Forensics Number of Existing Workers 1,272 344 65 New Hires Last Year 267 81 16 Current Vacancies 119 25 4 Expected Expected Growth Rate, Hires, 03-05 03-05 341 27% 160 47% 34 52%







In addition to being the second largest category of bioscience jobs, laboratory technicians are the leading occupation category in new hires. Over the past year, 364 new laboratory technician jobs were added among survey respondents. The increase in new hires represents 22 percent of the current employment base. Projected to increase even more over the next two years, the rate of new hires among job functions within the laboratory technician category is expected to increase 32 percent from existing employment. The absolute level of new hires stands at 535 jobs, the greatest increase among all job categories. According to respondents, 148 job vacancies presently exist in the laboratory technician category. Even though the projected level of new hires more than exceeds the number of job vacancies, this high level of unmet labor demand indicates an important labor market dynamic. Labor Market Dynamics The demand for laboratory technicians and technologists in hospitals and medical labs is being driven by growth in hospitals responding to population growth and the aging of the workforce in clinical labs--nationally approaching an average age in the late 40s. The key issue is that the healthcare lab technician occupation is not attracting young people to the profession--reflecting high educational requirements, long hours with shift duty and high stress, low pay, and limited career advancement opportunities. Interestingly, though, healthcare lab technicians generally are a stable workforce with minimal turnover. A greater degree of automation has helped to offset some of the vacancy issues, but the aging of the healthcare lab technician workforce means that time is running out. Hospitals and labs have begun to address these issues by diversifying the career opportunities for lab techs across degree levels. One respondent in particular has broadened the career path of laboratory techs to better reflect critical skill needs for specific positions. This approach creates several different entry points for prospective candidates. In contrast, research organizations--which dominate the hiring of research lab technicians in Arizona--tend to have a high turnover in these positions owing to the typical source of workers--recent college graduates. There seems to be a strong bias toward hiring bioscience graduates in research lab technician positions--instead of lab technicians with bench-tool training at the associate degree level--based largely on the perceived need for a broader depth of knowledge of the biosciences and possibly more education in general. Interestingly, these positions require less theoretical and more bench-procedure knowledge, and most lab techs are educated and trained in this area. However, as studies for the medical technician profession are increasingly included in B.S. degree programs, community colleges and four-year schools will need to find ways to address this issue through integrated programs and life-long career development. Often, the best recent graduates are sought as research technicians--and these recent graduates often apply to graduate school or medical school within a short time on the job. 12







Also, research organizations may not be willing to pay higher wages to keep workers longer. Large core labs that repeat focused laboratory procedures seem to go against this trend toward requiring bachelor's degrees. The largest core labs in Arizona are found at the Arizona Research Laboratory at the University of Arizona. Unfortunately, few large core bioscience facilities are found in Arizona, nor are planned in the near term. Interestingly, healthcare lab technicians and research lab technicians in Arizona and across the nation are typically treated very separately in both training and hiring. Healthcare lab technicians and technologists complete a defined program of study to become licensed professionals. Research lab technicians, on the other hand, typically have recently received their bachelor's degrees and have no specific required training in licensing or laboratory procedures beyond their general biology subjects. So, hospitals and medical labs do not hire those engaged by research labs, and healthcare technicians/technologists generally do not get hired by research labs due to a lack of understanding of their skills and higher pay requirements. There is, however, isolated evidence in major bioscience concentrations of successful use of healthcare technologists in the research setting. The basic problem is that researchers who head research labs have minimal knowledge and understanding of the clinical setting and fail to appreciate or even know of the healthcare technician/technologist occupation. As Arizona and other states try to increase the focus on translational research, perhaps this cross fertilization of the medical and research settings will be rectified and an opportunity for A.S. to B.S. degree programs can mature. Industry Requirements Degree Level: The bachelor's degree is predominant for both healthcare lab technologists and research lab technicians. Again, for research lab technicians, this is largely a matter of preference and bias of research organizations and industry. In healthcare lab fields, there is a more structured approach to licensing. A few fields within the healthcare lab technician/technologist occupation, such as histology, have no degree requirements; but, the sophistication of equipment and techniques are pushing up the standards to at least an associate's degree. Other healthcare lab positions also can be serviced by lower degree levels, typically at the associate level, for specific types of labs such as clinical chemistry labs involved in testing for glucose, cholesterol, and enzymes. However, many of the most sophisticated clinical labs, such as those involved in virology, immunology, microbiology, blood banking and molecular testing, require technicians with a bachelor's degree or higher. Moreover, smaller regional hospital centers in more rural areas typically require a high degree of flexibility in their healthcare technicians. This required flexibility calls for a person with a bachelor's degree to assure interlab coverage. Technical Skills: The lab tech category has a wide array of skill requirements ranging from routine repetitive laboratory tasks to higher specialized tasks requiring compiling data. Cutting across specific fields is the need for laboratory management involving documentation; following protocols; biosafety; maintaining, operating, and repairing equipment; quality assurance; and meeting regulatory requirements. Some of the more specific skills entail the following: ? ? ? Histology Flow cytometry Cell/tissue cultures ? ? Microbial cultures Microbiology







13







? ? ?







Media and solution preparation Hematology Virology



Laboratory Tech Job Profile







? ?







Laboratory equipment operation Immunochemistry.







Title: Laboratory Tech Responsibilities: Performs various routine technical laboratory duties and preliminary analyses. Tasks may involve assisting principal researchers in performing an array of standard or repetitive laboratory experiments or tests. Duties also will include running basic diagnostic tests and laboratory examinations. Incumbents draw largely upon their practical knowledge and experience derived from trial-and-error work. Position Illustration: Executes standard laboratory procedures such as maintaining cell cultures requiring the use of sterile techniques, processing tissue samples and preparing slides using staining techniques. Maintains plant collections, which includes planting, fertilizing, propagating, and harvesting; performs routine experiments and analyses, as requested. Maintains animal or insect colonies, which includes feeding, watering, sexing, and breeding the subjects. Compiles data and assists in routine preliminary analyses, maintains research data in laboratory notebook, writes summary reports, and reports findings to investigator. Collects samples or data and performs lab analysis and/or quantifies and tabulates results. Operates laboratory and experimental equipment such as microtomes, microscopes, electron microscopes, spectrophotometers, centrifuges, analytical balances, photometers, and spectrometers. Packages waste material and arranges for disposal according to established procedures. Assists with basic mathematical and statistical analyses. Follows established procedures to prepare solutions, media, and reagents using arithmetical calculations for measuring; performs library research to find appropriate procedures, as required. Performs clerical tasks such as filing, typing, labeling, and billing; inventories and requisitions supplies and materials. Performs a variety of determinations on different body fluids such as pregnancy tests, urinalysis, and complete blood counts; confirms and verifies test results, and reports findings to clinicians. Collects body fluids and material such as urine, blood, and throat cultures. Performs and reviews quality controls in testing, decides whether results are within acceptable ranges, researches problems and corrects. Develops and/or modifies existing procedures and policies for the operation of the laboratory. Develops and implements quality control systems for testing, ensures continued compliance with licensing requirements.







Production Job Category Survey Results Production-oriented jobs represent the largest portion of bioscience employment among respondents. According to the bioscience workforce survey, respondents employ 2,083 production-oriented workers (Table 5). However, this category of employment is not the most pervasive type of bioscience work in Arizona. Production jobs are concentrated among select respondents that are primarily manufacturers as opposed to major research facilities. The survey demonstrated that 40 percent of respondents reported some level of production-oriented worker.







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Job functions categorized as production are increasing. Establishments that answered the survey indicate that the number of new hires since 2002 represents 9 percent of the current employment level. This growing trend of new hires among the survey participants is projected to continue over the next two years. Between 2003 and 2005, new hires are expected to represent 15 percent of the current employment base. The result will be an addition of 309 new production-oriented jobs. This employment increase represents the second largest increase of bioscience workers.



Table 5: Job Functions in Production Job Category



Production Job Functions Manufacturing & Production Engineering Technician Process Development Engineer Number of Existing Workers 1,502 337 244 New Hires Last Year 147 27 14 Current Vacancies 62 6 10 Expected Expected Growth Rate, Hires, 03-05 03-05 251 17% 30 9% 28 11%







Although not among the faster growth job categories, the production jobs category has the lowest vacancy rate. Respondents reported in the survey that 78 vacant positions exist across the various production job functions. This level of job vacancy represents only 3.7 percent of the current employment base. The data suggest that the supply of labor demanded for production jobs is readily available within the state of Arizona. The implication is that employers are able to avoid lengthy searches for qualified employees. Labor Market Dynamics Presently, employers find the current labor supply of production workers sufficient to meet demand. However, interviews with industry executives pointed to complex issues facing bioscience employers engaged in production activities, issues such as diversity of the workforce and meeting the challenges of regulatory compliance and quality standards. The production workforce is very diverse, with many workers who do not possess strong English skills. Companies have found that training is critical in dealing with the diverse backgrounds of employees. At the same time, the importance of training is even more significant because of the need to meet strict U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. Industry leaders also expressed that, with the convergence of industries, new production workers will be required to possess multiple skills. Existing in-house and outsourced training programs have provided workers with the skills they need. However, bioscience production functions may change with the introduction of new information technology and biologic materials. Industry leaders are unsure how this change will affect the labor market and how training programs should be altered to adapt. Industry Requirements Degree Level: The job functions within the production category have very clear degree requirements, but do not necessarily translate into a structured career pathway. Individuals with extensive manufacturing experience and/or a high school diploma usually join the labor market for production jobs at the entry level. However, quality control and production







15







process management and design positions typically call for a bachelor's degree. The role of associate degree workers is not clear within production work--in some organizations, associate degree workers can serve in more analytical positions on the shop floor. So, different career positions based on education cover a wide chasm between shop floor work and more high-level quality control and process engineering. Individuals who possess an advanced degree typically are involved with R&D activities, not production work. The following educational disciplines are essential for production: ? ? ? ? ? Machining Electronics assembling Electrical engineering Mechanical engineering Industrial engineering ? ? ? ? ? Bioengineering Microbiology Biomechanics Analytical chemistry Synthetic chemistry.







Technical Skills: Combined with the expansive nature of the production category in terms of career paths and the very nature of bioscience production, workers are required to possess a wide range of technical skills. Bioscience-related production requires that individuals not only be familiar with commonplace manufacturing skills and techniques, but also have a certain level of scientific understanding. Bioscience products also are held to a higher standard to assure product safety and quality. Individuals are therefore expected to have some of the following skills according to their position and industry segment: ? ? ? ? Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)/GLP Instrumentation validation FDA regulatory compliance Materials coding/bonding ? ? ? ? Chemical reagent formulation ISO 9001 Programming Production assembly.







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Production Job Profile







Title: Production Specialist Responsibilities: Performs a combination of various routine and/or technologically sophisticated production functions. Tasks may include engineering, manufacturing, and formulation. Proficient in automated manufacturing equipment/systems. Contributes to product quality assurance and control through conceptualization and implementation of enhanced manufacturing processes. Position Illustration: Supports and participates in day-to-day manufacturing. Takes part in transitioning new products and implementing new scale-up manufacturing processes. Follows established procedures to measure and formulate solutions and reagents. Evaluates production runs based on analysis of regulatory requirements and product quality. Runs testing scripts and other validation procedures to assure products fall within acceptable manufacturing parameters. Draws upon a wide range of engineering and production knowledge and skills focused on fabricating components using high-tech raw materials. Operates and maintains production equipment. Meets project timelines and commitments. Assists in the design and fabrication of engineered components, electrical circuits, equipment, and integrated systems. Assists in troubleshooting systems and equipment and performs repairs under close supervision. Requisitions components and supplies for production runs, interacting with vendors to obtain price and product information. Highly specialized in mechanics, electronics, and software controls that configure, control, and drive manufacturing equipment.







Management Support Category Survey Results Jobs that function as support for other key bioscience occupational tasks are the most diverse category of jobs. The bioscience workforce survey indicated that 1,599 workers are employed in some support capacity (Table 6). Workers categorized as management support perform a wide range of assistance activities including marking and sales, documentation and logistics, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, and health/bio-informatics.



Table 6: Job Functions in Management Support Category



Management Support Job Functions Marketing Sales Technical Support/ Documentation/Logistics Quality Assurance/Validation Regulatory Affairs Health/Bio-Informatics Number of Existing Workers 634 550 317 53 45 New Hires Last Year 93 89 43 3 4 Current Vacancies 38 15 21 6 1 Expected Expected Growth Rate, Hires, 03-05 03-05 60 9% 77 31 13 11 14% 10% 25% 24%







The diverse nature of this job category explains why management support occupations are so pervasive among respondents. The survey indicated that 71 percent of establishments possessed some aspect of work categorized as management support. This is the most common job category among establishments.







17







This category of bioscience employment has experienced healthy gains; in the past year, 232 new jobs were added, representing 15 percent of the current employment base. However, respondents do not expect this rate of increase to continue because the demand for management support workers is expected to decline. Between 2003 and 2005, the survey projected that jobs within the management support category will experience the smallest level of new hires compared with current employment levels, reaching only 12 percent. The nature of management support suggests that the future role of jobs in this category is highly dependent upon the level of overall bioscience industrial activity. Labor Market Dynamics Industrial leaders have suggested that management support job functions are not very specialized positions. Typically, establishments with a small labor force require workers to perform these tasks in addition to other more technologically sophisticated duties. Small companies expect workers to wear several hats and have the ability to multitask. Presently, workers across the spectrum of job functions are expected to have the knowledge sufficient to support overall business activities. As the Arizona bioscience industry matures and scales up, management support jobs become more distinct, requiring a greater degree of specialization for each job function. Data management and documentation, along with product quality and assurance, are critical in the bioscience industry. The FDA requires bioscience companies to follow strict regulations. Some industry leaders have found a need to hire individuals who perform certain management support functions exclusively, although this has not become a common occurrence yet. Employers foresee that, once the bioscience industry emerges as a major source of economic growth, the importance of management support job functions will increase as a result of strict federal guidelines. Industry Requirements Degree Level: The majority of new hires possess a bachelor's degree, but companies occasionally have hired people with advanced degrees and associate degrees as well. The current status of the bioscience industry makes it difficult to encapsulate the management support job category. Each employer tends to utilize the management support job functions in different capacities, making it extremely difficult to characterize the career path for these types of occupations. Because management support occupations are so pervasive, a host of disciplines are applicable. Typically, the management support category incorporates a broad range of basic liberal arts degrees. Some of these areas include the following: ? ? ? Biology Chemistry Process engineering ? ? Business administration--sales and marketing Computer science.







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Technical Skills: The wide-ranging nature of the management support category requires new hires to possess a breadth of technical skills. Some of these skills overlap with other job categories. However, within the field of management support, individuals tend to possess the following skills in positions that are typified as managerial or analytical: ? ? ? ? ? ? Quality assurance/control Regulatory affairs Statistical analysis Sales and marketing Database management Procedural documentation.







19







20







Inventory of Bioscience Educational Activities in Arizona



The following analysis depicts the key factors shaping the pipeline of bioscience workers in Arizona from the supply side of educational and training providers. This discussion is approached by examining ? ? ? Recent trends in bioscience graduates relative to the nation Programmatic developments throughout the educational pipeline, including leading programs Key challenges that must be either strengthened or addressed to develop the pipeline of bioscience workers that industry will demand in the future.







The focus of this analysis was on those certificate and degree programs focused on biosciencecareer-specific and workforce-related skills development. In reviewing the state's efforts, the focus was not on efforts to promote more traditional educational activities in the biosciences, such as postsecondary degrees in biological sciences, except when identifying where they relate to programs and initiatives designed to provide students with relevant workplace skills for bioscience workers.







RECENT TRENDS IN BIOSCIENCE GRADUATES



Many fields of study outside of direct patient care draw upon the biosciences. The key bioscience fields nationally are the more basic-science-related biology degree programs, but the more applied bioscience degree programs also relate to specific industry sectors such as ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Biotechnology and medical products Medical sciences applying biosciences to understanding human diseases and health Medical laboratory sciences involved in testing and analysis to detect human illness Agricultural and plant sciences Agricultural animal sciences Food and nutrition sciences Environmental sciences Chemistry and material sciences.5







A national database maintained by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) was used to review bioscience degree trends for Arizona. The NCES database allows for comparisons of Arizona to national trends, as well as key competitive states. The data that NCES compiles is obtained directly from the states, and the Arizona Board of Regents has reviewed the data for Arizona and validated its accuracy.







5







See Appendix D for detailed degrees found under bioscience degree categories.







21







Overall, Arizona awarded 1,717 bioscience-related degrees in the 2000?2001 school year. As Table 7 reveals, 879 or 51 percent of the degrees were awarded in the basic-science-related biology programs, with the next highest category being environmental sciences with 238 degrees awarded or 14 percent of all bioscience-related degrees. Chemistry and material sciences also demonstrated a large share of total bioscience-related degrees, representing 18.8 percent of all degrees.



Table 7: Arizona Bioscience-Related Degrees, 2000?2001



Categories of Bioscience Degrees in Non-clinical Care Programs Total Bioscience-Related Degrees Biology & Related Fields Biotech & Medical Products Medical Sciences Medical Laboratory Sciences Environmental Sciences Food & Nutrition Sciences Agricultural & Plant Sciences Agricultural Animal Sciences Chemistry & Material Sciences Total Number of Degrees Awarded 1,717 879 68 16 36 238 43 77 38 322 Percent of Total Arizona Bioscience Degrees n.a 51.2% 4.0% 0.9% 2.1% 13.9% 2.5% 4.5% 2.2% 18.8%







Arizona stands out in the percentage of degrees awarded in environmental sciences, but is well below the nation in medical science degrees awarded. In the distribution of bioscience degrees, Arizona is more than double the national share in environmental sciences, but only onethird of the national level of medical science degrees. Arizona also has slightly lower shares of degrees in biology-related sciences and animal sciences (Table 8 and Figure 5).



Table 8: Distribution of Bioscience-Related Degrees in Arizona and the United States



Categories of Bioscience Degrees in Non-clinical Care Programs Biology & Related Fields Biotech & Medical Products Medical Sciences Medical Laboratory Sciences Environmental Sciences Food & Nutrition Sciences Agricultural & Plant Sciences Agricultural Animal Sciences Chemistry & Material Sciences Percent of Total Arizona Bioscience Degrees 51.2% 4.0% 0.9% 2.1% 13.9% 2.5% 4.5% 2.2% 18.8% Percent of Total US Bioscience Degrees 57.0% 4.1% 3.0% 2.7% 5.5% 1.8% 4.6% 3.7% 17.7%







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Figure 5: Distribution of Bioscience-Related Degrees in Arizona and the United States, 2000?2001



60%







50%







40% Arizona United States 30%







20%







10%







0% Biology & Related Fields Biotech & Medical Products Medical Sciences Medical Laboratory Sciences Environmental Sciences Food & Nutrition Sciences Agricultural & Plant Sciences Agricultural Animal Sciences Chem istry & Material Sciences







Overall, the total number of bioscience-related degrees in Arizona declined by 264 or 13.3 percent between the 1995?1996 and the 2000?2001 school years (Table 9 and Figure 6). Similarly, all of the benchmark states recorded declines as well. The decline in Arizona, however, was slightly less than the national average decline of 13.9 percent. Relative to the U.S. growth rate, many of the benchmark states, including Arizona, outperformed the national average. Arizona was slightly above the national trend.







Table 9: Total Bioscience-Related Degrees Awarded, 1995?1996 to 2000?2001



Degrees Awarded 1995/1996 to 2000/2001 United States Arizona California Georgia Maryland Oregon Texas Washington -13.9% -13.3% -5.5% -13.6% -3.7% -5.2% -10.6% -16.5%







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Figure 6: Percent Change of Bioscience-Related Degrees Relative to the United States, 1995?1996 to 2000?2001







Maryland







10.2%







Oregon







8.7%







California







8.4%







Texas







3.3%







Arizona







0.6%







Georgia







0.3%







W ashington







-2.6%







-4%







-2%







0%







2%







4%







6%







8%







10%







12%







Arizona enjoyed strong growth in degrees awarded in biology-related fields, biotech and medical products, and agricultural and plant sciences. In biology-related fields, Arizona grew by 14.9 percent, well outpacing the national gain of 0.9 percent (Table 10). In biotech and medical products, Arizona grew by 21.4 percent, comparable to U.S. growth of 20.9 percent, while agricultural and plant sciences leaped in Arizona by 26.2 percent, well in excess of U.S. growth of 6.3 percent.



Table 10: Bioscience-Related Degrees Awarded between 1995?1996 to 2000?2001



Categories of Bioscience Degrees in Non-clinical Care Programs Biology & Related Fields Biotech & Medical Products Medical Sciences Medical Laboratory Sciences Environmental Sciences Food & Nutrition Sciences Agricultural & Plant Sciences Agricultural Animal Sciences Chemistry & Material Sciences AZ Percent Change in Degrees Awarded 1995/1996 to 2000/2001 14.9% 21.4% 23.1% -23.4% -58.2% -44.9% 26.2% -7.3% -8.0% US Percent Change in Degrees Awarded 1995/1996 to 2000/2001 0.9% 20.9% 41.3% -37.2% -67.4% -61.8% 6.3% 14.0% -1 5 . 4 %







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The fields responsible for the overall declines in Arizona in bioscience-related degrees were medical laboratory sciences, environmental sciences, food and nutrition sciences, agricultural animal sciences, and chemistry and material sciences. Arizona's declines were in keeping with the general declining U.S. trends for medical laboratory sciences, environmental sciences, food and nutritional sciences, and chemistry and material sciences. However, in each degree category, Arizona declined at a slower rate than the national average. Agricultural animal sciences was the only category in which Arizona experienced a decline while, at the national level, the number of degrees awarded actually rose (Figure 7).



Figure 7: Bioscience-Related Degrees Awarded for Arizona and the United States, 1995?1996 to 2000?2001



60%







40% Arizona United States 20%







0%







-20%







-40%







-60%







-80% Biology & Related Fields Biotech & Medical Products Medical Sciences Medical Laboratory Sciences Environmental Sciences F ood & Nutrition Sciences Agricultural & Plant Sciences Agricultural Animal Sciences Chem istry & Material Sciences







Across each level of bioscience degrees granted--associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral--Arizona declined in degrees awarded. The decline was particularly steep in associate degrees awarded at 64.5 percent, dropping at a much faster rate than the national decline of 29.5 percent (Table 11). This decline reflects the drop in environmental, medical laboratory, and food and nutrition sciences, but also the fact that students pursuing biology degrees often will earn only a general associate's degree and continue on to four-year degree programs. Arizona's decline in doctoral degrees also exceeded the U.S. loss, falling 22.5 percent compared with the national decline of 8.7 percent. While Arizona fell in total number of bachelor's degrees in bioscience-related fields, the decline of 5.2 percent was less severe than the national decline of 10.0 percent; while for master's degrees, Arizona and the United States were comparable in their declines.







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Relative to the benchmark states, the steep decline in associate bioscience degrees recorded in Arizona also was felt in several other states, such as Georgia, Oregon, and Washington. Interestingly, California realized an increase.



Table 11: Total Bioscience-Related Degrees Awarded, 1995?1996 to 2000?2001



Percent Change in Bioscience-Related Degrees Awarded 1995/1996 to 2000/2001 United States Arizona California Georgia Maryland Oregon Texas W ashington Associate's -29.5% -64.5% 13.7% -71.4% -72.2% -61.6% -18.0% -82.8% B achelor's -10.0% -5.2% -8.2% -10.6% 0.3% 6.6% -10.0% -7.6% M ast er's -23.6% -26.0% -10.8% -15.5% -9.7% -40.5% -18.1% -25.1% Doct orat e -8.7% -22.5% -6.2% 1.9% -2.3% -13.1% -10.9% 0.5%







BIOSCIENCE DEVELOPMENTS THROUGHOUT THE EDUCATIONAL PIPELINE



To gain a sense of Arizona's position in supplying bioscience workers, it is useful to consider the range of activities and recent programmatic developments taking place throughout the educational pipeline. K-12 Supply-Side Factors The biosciences comprise highly technical fields typically requiring some level of postsecondary education. Nevertheless, the K-12 education level plays a critical role in preparing students for the demanding technical nature of bioscience curricula. There are clear signs that Arizona has a problem with this initial step in the educational pipeline. The number of students advancing from high school to postsecondary education is lagging in Arizona. A Governor's Task Force on Higher Education reported in December 2000 in Arizona at Risk: An Urgent Call to Action that ? From 1997 to 1999, the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds in the United States who were high school graduates averaged 85.5 percent. The figure in Arizona was 75 percent, and the state ranked 49th out of 50 on this measure. Of all U.S. public and private high school graduates in 1998, 57.2 percent enrolled in college in the fall of 1998. In Arizona, this figure was 45 percent, placing the state near the bottom at 47th out of 50.







?







In an effort to improve the quality of K-12 education in Arizona, significant focus has been placed on standardized testing in past years, including an Arizona law that requires the Arizona







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Board of Education to develop competency tests in reading, writing, and mathematics that students must pass to graduate from high school. In the spring of 1999, the first of these exams was administered to approximately 50,000 Arizona high school sophomores. Eighty-eight percent of the students failed the math portion of the test; and 92 percent failed at least one of the three sections of the test. Interviews with postsecondary faculty and administrators suggest that not only are students unprepared to handle college-level scientific courses, but high school teachers are not trained to instruct students in the fundamentals of molecular biology and other key preparatory biologyrelated courses. Although beyond the scope of this strategic analysis, significant improvements must be made in the K-12 system if Arizona's youth are to become the bioscience workers of tomorrow. Proposition 301 funding has provided a new revenue stream in an attempt to make significant improvements in the quality of K-12 education. Seventy percent of the Proposition 301 funding has been allocated to K-12 education in which ? ? ? Forty percent must be used for "teacher compensation increases based on performance" Twenty percent must be used for "teacher base salary increases" Forty percent must be used for "maintenance and operations purposes," which may include teacher compensation increases.







However, none of these dollars have been allocated specifically to math and science education. Attention has been given to revamping some of the technical education curriculum over the past several years in an effort to ensure its applicability to industrial needs. For instance, the Arizona Department of Education, Career and Technical Education Division, recently revised the allied health services program to more accurately reflect the changing workforce demands, including the needs of the emerging bioscience industry. In addition to its robust program offering in nursing, it also is designed to prepare individuals for jobs in four additional fields: ? ? ? ? Pharmacy support services Laboratory assisting Medical imaging support services Sports medicine and rehabilitation therapies.







Of particular relevance to this study is the laboratory assisting program. The laboratory assisting program is envisioned as a 2+2+2 program leading from a high school degree to a medical or clinical laboratory technician associate's degree to a clinical laboratory scientist or medical technologist position (which requires, at minimum, a bachelor's degree in medical technology or one of the life sciences). The laboratory assisting program focuses on ? ? ? ? Maintaining standards in the laboratory Demonstrating proper application of aseptic techniques in the laboratory Conducting the phlebotomy procedure in a laboratory setting Applying procedures related to selected specimen collection







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? ?







Assuring appropriate laboratory documentation and quality control Maintaining laboratory inventory and equipment.







In addition, the Arizona Department of Education, Career and Technical Education Division, also oversees an agriscience program designed to prepare students for employment in various production, sales, and supplier positions related to animal and/or plant sciences. Students completing this program will possess the technical knowledge and skills associated with animal and/or plant production and health, marketing, and sales positions. However, at this time, the number of schools offering this type of training is quite small. In the allied health field, other than nursing, only 17 schools offered training in the four programs in 2002. It is unclear, since the program is so new, whether more than just a few schools will be able to offer the laboratory assisting program. This is due primarily to a lack of resources, both in terms of faculty and equipment. Some of the school districts, particularly in the rural areas, are seeking partnerships with the local community colleges to provide the training. However, articulation agreements with the community colleges have not been fully implemented, which is leading to additional challenges. It also has proven to be quite difficult to engage industry to be active participants in the K-12 programs. Most of the interaction is limited to student shadowing projects due to issues of quality control and liability. There is a recognition that these relationships need to be established to improve the curriculum training and overall student experience, but it is proving to be a barrier to growth at this time. One interesting development has been the creation of the Arizona Bioengineering Collaboration (ABC), which began in the fall of 2001, as a four-year project sponsored by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to the Arizona Science Center. It brings together educators, researchers, and industry scientists and experts to develop and implement a multicomponent educational program to raise the public's awareness of and interest in local developments in bioengineering and technology. Each year, a Design Team, composed of Science Center staff, teachers, and academic and industry scientists select a topic in bioengineering. The Design Team has completed two topics: one on medical and health care (Doctoring DNA) and the other on agricultural biotechnology (GM Foods in My Schoolyard?). One hundred and fourteen teachers have participated in the teacher training workshops, and an estimated 2,000 students have participated in the student curriculum. The first outreach program was introduced in the spring of 2003, and 100 students have since participated. Thousands of visitors to the Science Center have viewed the DNA demonstration, which has been presented at least three times each week since its introduction in the fall of 2002. In addition to the changes in the technical education curriculum across the state, many individual school districts also are exploring various options to improve math and science education. For example, a bioscience-focused high school in Phoenix is currently in the initial planning stages. To date, the concept of creating a biotech high school in downtown Phoenix has been explored and has received support from the Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, and the City of Phoenix. The current concept calls for transforming a part of the old Phoenix Union High School campus into the new science-focused facility. The location is nearby the planned headquarters of the Translational Genomics Research Institute and International Genomics Consortium. The concept for the biotech high school is rooted in the belief that the program will engage students' interest in the health sciences at an early age and supplement their learning 28







experiences through interactions with nearby health and research centers, ultimately serving to bolster workforce shortages while contributing to the advancement of Arizona biosciences. Community Colleges Supply-Side Factors Arizona has one of the largest community college systems in the nation, which often serves as a national model of excellence. Community colleges in Arizona play a number of key roles in education and workforce development: ? Preparing students to go on to a four-year degree program by giving them an initial college experience along with remedial courses. The college courses provided by Arizona community colleges are typically developed in concert with the four-year degree programs to ensure that they articulate seamlessly Offering students terminal associate's degrees that are career oriented and enable students to gain the competency and technical expertise to pursue a specific career track upon graduation Providing certificates and additional career-oriented training for postbaccalaureate students who have completed more general bachelor's degree programs, but need to strengthen their hands-on technical skills Providing customized training courses in partnership with existing companies for skill upgrading through the Centers for Workforce Development found across community colleges in Arizona.







? ?







?







Community colleges in Arizona play a major role in the allied health field, which trains nurses, therapists, radiologists, and other direct clinical care providers. These activities, however, fall outside the scope of this study. In the nonclinical care side of the biosciences, the role of community colleges has tended to be more limited, primarily serving to provide lower level science courses for students who go on to four-year degree programs. This role should not be minimized. Community colleges are shouldering a major share of the introductory and sophomore-level science courses taken by undergraduates in Arizona. One area of bioscience development at the community college level is in career programs for laboratory technicians. While community colleges in Arizona have not been involved in medical technology programs in recent years, they are beginning to step up in other laboratoryrelated career courses. Recently, two community colleges--Pima Community College and Phoenix College--have been moving forward toward offering an associate's degree in histology to provide qualified workers able to handle and prepare tests of tissue specimens for both hospitals and private industry. The Pima Community College program has its first class this fall, while Phoenix College is getting ready to pilot its program.



Example of a Healthcare Lab Career Program at the Community College Level: Pima Community College Histology Program







? The program is geared toward training students for careers as histologic technicians. ? The program includes courses designed to provide students with competency and technical expertise with laboratory protocols in nuclear and cytoplasmic staining, immunohistochemistry, enzyme histochemistry, and electron microscopy. ? The program was created through consultation with an industrial advisory committee to meet area workforce demands. In an effort to ensure close interaction with industry, the program also includes a required internship.







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Other emerging efforts are also taking place in training bioscience research technicians. Mesa Community College has completed its first year of a new biotechnology associate degree program, and Glendale Community College is actively developing its own biotechnology associate degree program. Agricultural bioscience is another area where community colleges have begun to fill key career technical education roles, especially in more rural communities. Yavapai College has a growing program focused on greenhouse and fisheries/ aquaculture, which has a successful track record in placing students in jobs. Arizona Western College has two extensive and unique 2+2 programs in environmental science and agricultural systems management that are completely self-contained in Yuma in partnership with both Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona. In postbaccalaureate activities, a new program is offered by Gateway Community College focused on training clinical research coordinators, who are essential for clinical trials and other clinical research activities. Typical students for this program would be nurses or others involved in clinical care delivery seeking to be involved in supporting clinical trials. Interestingly, a focused effort in biomedical devices is absent from community college activities. It is true, however, that community colleges are actively involved in training students for careers in electronics and manufacturing, who often are or become employees of medical device manufacturers. Four-Year Degree Level







Example of Career Lab Program at the Community College Level: Mesa Community College Biotechnology Associate of Applied Science The program is geared toward training students for careers as technical assistants in bioscience laboratories. Program includes courses designed to provide students with competency and technical expertise with state-of-the-art laboratory protocols in molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, cell biology and other key fields of bioscience, as well as biosafety. Program also includes a capstone internship. Example of Agriculture Bioscience Program at the Community College: Yavapai College Program in Agricultural Technology Management The program is geared toward training students for careers in greenhouses and fisheries, with a handson learning environment involved in growing and fish breeding. New lab facility will enable more advanced courses in tissue culture, high-end chemistry and sterilization needed for in vitro techniques. Growing program with 50 students at any one time and a significant waiting list. Excellent record of job placement. Unique Partnerships in Yuma, Arizona Arizona Western College has been able to develop two unique 2+2 programs with four-year institutions within the state in order to meet the educational demands for its rural region. For example, Arizona Western College (AWC) and Northern Arizona University-Yuma (NAUYuma) offer a collaborative bachelor degree program in environmental sciences, with areas of focus that include ecology, conservation, environmental compliance, and hazardous waste management. In addition, AWC also offers in partnership with both the University of Arizona (U of A) and NAU-Yuma a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Systems Management. In this program, the degree-granting institution is the U of A. The educational partnerships of AWC, U of A, and NAU-Yuma allow students the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree in a convenient and affordable manner, thereby meeting the industrial demand for trained workers in the environmental and agricultural fields.







The three state universities, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University, all have large undergraduate programs in the biological sciences. All three are broadbased programs spanning environmental, microbiological, and molecular sciences. In addition, all of the programs are becoming more involved in teaching the techniques in biotechnology, genetic engineering, microbiology, cell biology, and mathematical analysis of genomes.







30







In terms of more specialized degree programs at the bachelor level educating students in laboratory sciences, the long-standing programs have been in medical technology, with one program found at the University of Arizona and the other at Arizona State University. Each of these programs provide comprehensive laboratory experiences for students to qualify as licensed medical technologists. Like their counterparts nationally, these programs tend to attract small numbers of students--in the 10 to 15 range. The University of Arizona is considering disbanding its program because of low enrollment and high costs of maintaining the program. Another specialized bachelor's degree emphasizing laboratory sciences found in Arizona is the Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology Program offered at Arizona State University. Along with a rigorous academic curriculum, this program focuses on training students in techniques involved in molecular biology, genetic engineering, microbiology, cell biology, and mathematical analysis of genomes. It also includes a capstone course oriented toward issues in biotechnology, from business to patenting to entrepreneurship to regulatory affairs. Another way for undergraduate bioscience students to gain laboratory skills is by participating in research activities with faculty. Northern Arizona University places a strong emphasis on experiential learning for biology students with Example of Hands-On Laboratory Program at the approximately 110 to 120 undergraduates Four-Year Degree Level: involved annually in research projects with Undergraduate Biology Research Program at the faculty members, plus offering an advanced University of Arizona molecular techniques course every other year. A The Undergraduate Biology Research Program particularly interesting model is the Under(UBRP) focuses on developing laboratory graduate Biology Research Program (UBRP) at experience for undergraduates. Started in 1988, the program has expanded by attracting support from the University of Arizona. UBRP (see text box) the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the is an excellent demonstration of how research National Science Foundation (NSF), and the experiences at a major research university can be American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. The students are expected to brought to bear on undergraduate education spend the summer working full-time in the lab and outside of the actual classroom. In the area of bioengineering, there is a wellestablished bioengineering undergraduate program at ASU and a newly developing biomedical engineering technology program at DeVry University. The ASU bioengineering program is quite mature and yet still growing, with 400 declared majors and a graduating class of nearly 60 students. This ASU program offers undergraduates eight subspecialty areas such as bioelectrical engineering, biosystems engineering, molecular and cellular engineering, and biomedical imaging engineering. The majority of students in this program subsequently enroll in graduate or medical school programs. The DeVry Biomedical Engineering Technology Program is just being launched and was developed after strong interest expressed by industry. It emphasizes all of the core skills found in



then part-time throughout the school year. Students are paid for their time in the lab. Faculty sponsors pay half of the UBRP students' wages. UBRP supports approximately 140 University of Arizona undergraduate students per year and includes more than 240 faculty sponsors.







Clinical Lab Sciences Program at Arizona State University Trains students across lab science areas of clinical chemistry, hematology, clinical immunology, immunohematology, clinical microbiology. Strong emphasis on GLP involving documentation, following procedures, and biosafety. Molecular Biosciences & Biotechnology Program at Arizona State University Specialized bioscience degree program that emphasizes laboratory techniques, along with a rigorous academic curriculum. Key laboratory techniques include molecular biology, cell biology, genetic engineering, and microbiology. A growing program with 120 declared majors.







31







electronics engineering, with a strong foundation in biological sciences in order to be involved in product development and manufacturability related to bioinstruments, medical devices, and imaging equipment. Graduate Degree and Professional Development At the graduate level, the data on graduates suggest that Arizona is trailing in the biosciences. There clearly is a need for greater resources to support growth in graduate bioscience education in Arizona. Limited program development activities for bioscience professional degrees are underway. This development is critical as the biosciences move from theory into practice and have to integrate many converging areas of technology. These professional degrees in the biosciences are particularly important to enable existing bioscience professionals to advance in their skills and knowledge. ASU has a Computational Bioinformatics degree, which is an "elite" program established to address the need for professionals trained in mathematical and computational analyses for the biosciences. It is a terminal two-year master's program. The University of Arizona, meanwhile, is developing a Professional Master's Degree Program in Applied Biosciences with a solid foundation of advanced core courses in cell biology, molecular biology, and other key areas, as well as coursework in business fundamentals, project management, and intellectual property law. Northern Arizona University is considering options for a number of master's level programs in the biosciences, such as a medical physics program through its Applied Master's in Sciences.







KEY CHALLENGES



Overall, the movement by Arizona education to address bioscience career development is just emerging and needs more focused direction. From discussions with faculty and program administrators, a number of key issues were identified. Financial constraints hold back access to hands-on laboratory facilities. Academic programs across most community colleges and four-year institutions face difficult financial constraints that affect their ability to offer in-depth laboratory instruction necessary to equip their biology students with the hands-on skills needed to work in laboratory or biomanufacturing settings. With recent cost pressures, the ability to create laboratory space is under real threat across public institutions throughout the nation. Already, the lack of funding has required some postsecondary schools to cut back on the number of laboratory courses that they offer and require for graduation due to both the costly nature of the classes and to the shortage of lab space available. There is a clear lack of clinical laboratory science programs in Arizona. Given the strong demand for healthcare and research laboratory technicians and technologists, it is surprising that so few programs exist in the state and that the University of Arizona medical technology program is under threat of being closed. This area is ripe for creative approaches in Arizona-- approaches that are not focused simply on creating more programs, but on the need to create more student interest. The medical device industry is largely missed by current educational and workforce offerings. It is surprising in Arizona, given the size of its medical device industry, that a more 32







focused effort to address workforce development issues does not exist. This complex area involves addressing the multitude of skill needs of biomedical device companies found in the state and the fact that medical device companies often draw on traditional manufacturing and engineering skill sets. Yet, common issues of regulatory requirements and quality standards for biomedical devices and addressing non-English-speaking workers' needs in skill upgrading seem to be two areas ripe for near-term development. Despite advances in course articulation, program articulation in the biosciences is being held back, reflecting tensions between learning hands-on skills and basic science knowledge. Arizona is generally very active in promoting articulation between the Community Colleges System and the public universities, as well as a growing number of private universities, such as Midwestern University. However, even with the generally effective processes in place, an uneven pattern of articulation exists at the program level for bioscience programs. There seems to be a tension across the biosciences in Arizona between courses involving students gaining hands-on skills in advanced laboratory techniques and the ability to articulate those courses to a four-year program. Many of the specific hands-on courses simply do not articulate into established bioscience programs found at the four-year level--reflecting the differences between traditional bioscience degrees and bioscience career programs. Arizona may need to consider new types of bioscience bachelor programs at the four-year degree level that can recognize the value of the hands-on bioscience skills curriculum offered at the community college level. Steps to do so will differentiate Arizona from the nation and help address both pipeline issues and career opportunities for community college graduates and undergraduates wishing to pursue careers in the biosciences. Teacher externships are needed, especially for community colleges. Given the changing skill needs in the biosciences reflecting the advances in research methods and techniques, it is important--especially at the community college level where the emphasis is on teaching, not research--that teacher externships be a regular component of professional development. These teacher externships can involve research institutions along with private sector companies. Concern about the quality of high school programs should be addressed. Interviews with postsecondary faculty and administrators suggest that not only are students not prepared to handle college-level scientific courses, but high school teachers are not trained to instruct students in the fundamentals of molecular biology and other key preparatory biology-related courses. Weak connections exist between local bioscience employers and bioscience students in Arizona. Particularly with San Diego being so close, many perceive that working in the bioscience industry means leaving the state. The industry that does exist in Arizona does not seem to be closely aligned with the educational infrastructure. More needs to be done through outreach and internship programs to capture the indigenous student body in the state.







33







New mechanisms for fostering industry involvement and guidance in bioscience education and workforce development are needed. The partnership between industry and academia needs to be more robust statewide to ensure that academia is meeting the workforce demands of the industry for which it is preparing the students. The relationships need to more systematically address workforce issues such as ? ? ? ? ? ? Providing input by businesses on programs and curricula that address training needs Gaining bioscience employer support through donated or shared equipment, and providing industry scientists and engineers to help teach courses Seeking more business representation and activity on college and university boards Encouraging higher education to be more accountable for workforce development Developing externships by lending employees to teach classes Providing expanded internships and other hands-on training opportunities for students.







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Strategic Assessment of Arizona's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats







SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS



Drawing from the completed analyses (including the demand analysis [including survey of bioscience organizations and follow-on interviews], secondary