Both public and private programs aim to help veterans apply their skills in the biotech and pharmaceutical sector.
Pictured: A row of uniformed soldiers saluting/iStock, roibu
About 200,000 people leave military service each year in the U.S. and transition to civilian life. By the government’s own account, this change can be very challenging. One career option for those leaving the military is in biopharma, and for those considering this route, programs exist specifically to help them find a path.
“It’s often challenging for many individuals who are transitioning out of military service to understand what’s going to be the best fit for them,” Derek Heim, who leads Merck’s Veterans Leadership Network, told BioSpace. In this regard, he noted that Merck’s mission to save and improve lives can be very meaningful for them. “A lot of veterans will look for a mission-focused company to work for.”
The Veterans Leadership Network is a global group of nearly 1,500 veterans, military family members and their supporters within Merck. While the program in its current form began in 2009, Heim said the company’s efforts to recruit veterans stretches back much longer, and furthers Merck’s aim of having its workforce reflect the diversity of its patients around the world.
In addition, those who’ve served in the U.S. military tend to have a solid foundation in “strategic thinking, critical thinking as it impacts the international space, the political aspects of working in different countries,” he said. “There’s a distinct execution of project management, execution of strategy and realization that the military is really exceptionally trained in—they do this 24/7 during their careers.”
One way Merck recruits veterans is by participating in the Department of Defense’s SkillBridge program, which allows servicemembers to gain civilian work experience during their final months in the military. Heim said the company has also worked to identify job requisitions for which years in military service could be substituted for years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has revised the requisitions to reflect this.
The company also helps highly talented service members build their resumes and identify roles within the company that could be a fit. Once hired, service members in the Veterans Leadership Network are assigned a mentor to help them learn about the company.
Merck is not alone in its efforts to help servicemembers transition into the biopharma industry. Amgen, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Roche are among the other companies that tout their efforts to recruit and retain veterans.
In addition to SkillsBridge, there are other U.S. government programs that aim to facilitate the transition to civilian careers, including those in biopharma. In North Carolina, the state-funded NCBiotech places veterans in internships as a stepping stone to careers in the industry. And some occupations in the Army, Navy and Air Force are directly related to roles in biopharma, a Department of Labor spokesperson noted in an email to BioSpace. These include laboratory technician, pharmacy specialist and medical supply-related roles.
As for the roles veterans take on within the industry, Heim said that in the past, manufacturing tended to be seen as the clearest fit at Merck for former servicemembers’ skill sets. The company is now moving toward taking a broader view at how veterans can contribute, he said.
“Thinking through what the mission is that we’re trying to accomplish, and being able to construct that narrative and communicate it clearly and concisely in big matrix organizations—you can see a need for that across all of our departments within the company.”
Shawna Williams is a freelance science writer and editor based in New York. Reach her at shawna.williams@gmail.com.
