The biopharma manufacturing industry faces urgent and growing workforce shortages. Yet most career pathway programs begin too late—in high school or college—and miss a critical developmental window—middle school—when students first form career interests and identity.
NIIMBL member University City Science Center (UCSC) proposes “Experiencing Biopharma Manufacturing Career Pathways FirstHand (FirstHand),” a middle school program designed to spark early interest, build foundational skills, and connect students to biopharma manufacturing careers through hands-on learning and mentorship. This early intervention can expand the future talent pipeline and be replicated in other industry hotbeds, offering a scalable model for workforce development across the NIIMBL network. The proposal is aligned to addresses a long-term industry workforce shortage through early-stage engagement that is proven to increase STEM and career interest.
The proposed program provides a high-impact, scalable model for expanding the biopharmaceutical manufacturing workforce by starting earlier in the career exposure pipeline—reaching middle school students who have limited access to STEM programming and minimal exposure to high-growth industries like biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
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University City Science Center
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC
