Significant increases in demand for life sciences workers and managers, but it will take time to return to 2008 figures

This is according to the "Nisha" survey, ahead of a week at Biomed Israel 2010. According to Nisha's data, the demand for seniors in the first quarter of 2010 increased by more than 30%. The most significant jump in demand was demonstrated by the engineering professions, where the demand increased by more than 200%

A survey conducted by the placement company Nisha-Biotech, ahead of the "ILSI-Biomed Israel 2010" week, reveals that after a noticeable stagnation in the recruitment of manpower in the Israeli life sciences industry during 2009, the first quarter of 2010 indicates a reversal of the trend in the demand for workers and that the market is waking up at a very rapid pace And there is a noticeable lack of experienced workers in all fields. "ILSI - Biomed Israel 2010" week, the main annual event of the life sciences industry in Israel will be held between June 14 and 16 at the David Intercontinental in Tel Aviv.

According to Nisha's data, the demand for executives in the first quarter of 2010 increased by more than 30 percent, compared to the data of the first quarter of 2009. The demand for marketing personnel increased by more than 80 percent, the demand for researchers and chemists, from experienced candidates with master's degrees to senior project managers, increased to nearly 30 and the most significant jump in demand was demonstrated by the engineering development professions, where demand increased by over 200 percent. "The data are certainly encouraging," says Lizzie-Shoub London, partner and director of the Niche Biotech company, "but, make no mistake: the recent increases are still far from the highs we saw two years ago, in 2008... it should be remembered that in 2009, compared to 2008, there was A decrease of over 50 percent in the demand, for example, for development engineers... the growth we are witnessing now does not yet bring us back to the recruitments of 2008, but, certainly moves us there."

"After seven particularly difficult years, in the last year we have seen the stabilization and maturity of the innovative biotechnology and pharmaceutical market in Israel," says London. "Winds of success are blowing in the market. Products reach their third phase and automatically see the market. There are investments in projects where the fruits can be harvested at a relatively early stage and with respectable returns for investors. In terms of hiring, the significant growth is still ahead of us. Most of the recruitments are of highly experienced professional managers, and there is a continuous shortage in the business field and in the fields of quality and regulation."

In the field of medical devices, says London, 2009 was a year in which investors and companies preferred to take as few risks as possible. "On the one hand, the economic crisis produced almost no rounds of layoffs, but on the other hand, the companies recruited almost no workers, and in most companies there were wage cuts of up to 10%." But, according to Niche's survey, in most companies in the field of life sciences, in the first quarter of 2010, the salary cut made during 2009 was returned.

Salary tables in the field of life sciences

According to Nisha's survey, with the end of the first quarter of 2010, it seems that the salary level in the field of medical devices shows stability. The demand for workers is in all fields, with biomedical engineers without experience managing to integrate into companies at a salary of 10-16K. In the other professions, experience in the field of medical devices is still required.

Mechanical engineers with 3 years of experience in mechanical design (a highly sought-after field) demonstrate a salary level of 22K. Senior VPs in the Klinka field (highly sought after) currently earn 40K. Hot areas that stood out in the medical device industry are the fields of aesthetics, gastro, obesity, diabetes and cardiology.

In the biotechnology industry, the job market includes only experienced people. Bachelor's degree holders with no experience will find work in propaganda and sales only, with an average salary of 6K (including car and cell phone). There are no jobs in research for those with advanced degrees without industry experience. In contrast, there is a shortage of experienced workers from biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies. The main shortage is evident in biochemists and professionals in the field of quality assurance, regulation and clinic. The salary of quality managers or a regulatory or clinic manager with FDA experience ranges from 40-50K. Development personnel who have managed drug development (not research) and have CNC experience are in short supply, and their salary can reach upwards of 30K. The most noticeable shortage is in business development people and CEOs who have experience working with international pharmaceutical companies with proven results.

According to London, "Due to the small number of Israeli biotechnology companies that have reached a finished product, there is a demand for experienced CEOs in the final phase of product development, and there are no suitable candidates. Most biotechnological companies yearn for experienced CEOs, but since almost no companies have reached the final stage of development, there are almost no experienced CEOs available. As a solution, there are companies that take in CEOs from the field of medical devices, with the concept that the greatest importance is for a CEO who understands business, who can eventually deal with the academic complexity as well."