“We are shooting to hire 100 to 150 clinical research associates and project managers,” said Scott Sherman, vice president of human resources for PRA, which is a global clinical research organization with offices in Montgomery County. Sherman said 50 to 60 of the new hires are expected to be at, or report to, the company’s Horsham office.
Clinical research organizations manage the clinical testing of new drug candidates for biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Sherman said the firm was working with an external recruiting agency that alerted PRA about the new job training grant being promoted by the Life Science Career Alliance. PRA is finalizing its agreement to participate in the program.
The Norristown-based alliance was established in 2003 by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Workforce Investment Board Collaborative and the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council to coordinate the region’s efforts to enhance the pool of skilled workers available to life sciences companies including biotech and pharmaceutical firms, medical device manufacturers, and health-care providers.
This spring, according to Colleen Hamilton, executive director of the alliance, the Montgomery County Department of Workforce and Economic Development was awarded a $200,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry for an on-the job training grant program open to bioscience companies in the five-county region.
The on-the-job training grant program allows employers to receive a maximum of $3,600 per individual during a defined onboard/training period — no longer than six months — immediately following a hire.
“The Montgomery County Department of Economic and Workforce Development was eager to lead this initiative for the region since so many startup and emerging life sciences companies make their home in Montgomery County,” Hamilton said.
Nine other life science companies based at locations including the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County in Doylestown, the University City Science Center and the Great Valley Corporate Center in Chester County have expressed an interest in participating in the program.
“Our goal is to partner with a diverse set of life science companies from the region in this project and to establish long-term relationships with the companies,” Hamilton said.
She said PRA “immediately saw the value in the program — not to help their bottom line but to help build a true professional development program that creates an innovative best-of-class work team.”
The alliance is also working with PRA on a possible internship program involving students at Gywnedd Mercy College in Gwynedd Valley, Hamilton said.
Sherman said PRA, which is based in North Carolina, typically hires nurses and other people with strong science backgrounds, including those who have lost their jobs or are making career transitions.
New hires go through a one-week job training program to give them the skills needed to work as clinical research associates. The in-house training continues during their first 90 days on the job, and can go beyond three months.
Sherman said the on-the-job training grant will help PRA with training costs, which include manuals, books, online materials and travel expenses.
Susan Romberg, PRA’s vice president for clinical operations, said the Horsham office’s clinical operations, project management and late-phase services division in Horsham “all have opportunity to reap the benefits” from the company’s participation in the program.
“We really are a learning organization; we heavily invest in continuous learning from the new employees on board, what we call neo-training, through people’s entire career path to quite high levels in management,” Romberg said. “Our industry changes quite a bit. There’s always changes in medicine and drug development. We need to keep current and ensure our staff is current.”
Other recent actions taken by the alliance include distributing more than 10,000 career path brochures to regional schools and coordinating a project in which more than 40 educators and business partners developed the “BioExplorations” lesson plan/template for a pilot program used to teach more than 100 students at Great Valley High School about bioscience careers.
The alliance also worked with the county work force investment boards to manage grant funds received by the Delaware Valley Innovation Network to connect dislocated life sciences workers with job training.
The DVIN, created by a coalition of government, industry and educational institutions in the tri-state area, was backed by a three-year, $5.1 million federal grant. Its mission is to expand the talent pool for life sciences companies, mirroring the goals of the Life Science Career Alliance.
Officials with the DVIN, which closed up shop when the grant fund expired at the start of this year, estimated its programs touched more than 17,000 students and teachers along with almost 2,000 workers in the 14 counties and three states.
