2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy

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2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
                              2020
2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
2         PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

BioVectra -
Small scale fermentors
to produce APIs
2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
Contents

                                             Welcome..................................................................................................................................... 4
                                             Achievements and Highlights 2010-2015............................................................. 5
                                             PEI BioAlliance HR Mission........................................................................................ 6
                                             PEI BioAlliance HR Role................................................................................................ 7
                                             Examples of Career Opportunities........................................................................... 8
                                             Process for Strategy Development...........................................................................10
                                             Recruitment............................................................................................................................ 11
                                             Retention................................................................................................................................. 20
                                             HR Support........................................................................................................................... 22
                                             Skills Development........................................................................................................... 24
                                             Community Outreach.................................................................................................... 26
                                             Conclusion............................................................................................................................. 28
                                             Appendix A - PEI Bioscience Cluster Organizations................................. 29
Funded in whole or in part by the            Appendix B - BioAlliance Companies Survey Summary....................... 30
Canada-Prince Edward Island Labour
Market Development Agreement. This
Strategy offers the bioscience community
a strong foundation to continue building a
talented workforce that will drive growth.

Thank you to all who participated in
offering feedback and ideas. We have a
strong team of leaders and talent within
the bioscience community.
2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
4         PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Atlantic Veterinary College

Welcome
Our HR Strategy sets the direction to build       1400 employees, and our 2020 target is
our workforce over the next years toward          projected to exceed 2000 employees. The
2020. This is the second HR Strategy in the       PEI Bioscience community and its partners
history of the bioscience cluster. The first      have collaborated to grow strong, sustainable
one was developed in 2010. This strategy          organizations that are offering rewarding
is built on the experience and success of         careers in Prince Edward Island. They
that initiative and on the growth plans           are contributing to strong growth in our
of the bioscience companies. The PEI              economy. Together we are building a legacy
bioscience cluster employment is now over         of next generation prosperity.
2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
5       PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Achievements and Highlights 2010-2015

• We have 43 companies within the               • Website traffic to the PEI BioAlliance Job   PEI BIOCLUSTER EMPLOYMENT GROW TH
  bioscience cluster.                             Postings page has grown by 1700% over
                                                  the past five years for a total of 81,000    1600
• Between 2012 and 2015, 43% of jobs              total page views, 25,000 in past year.       1400
                                                                                                                                                                         1410
                                                                                                                                                                  1270
  were created by emerging companies                                                           1200
                                                                                                                                                    1027   1067
  and 57% by the largest companies.             • Recruitment success averages 95%.            1000
                                                                                                                                        906
                                                                                                                                              990

                                                                                                                           786
                                                                                               800                   750          750
                                                                                                              705

                                                                                               600
• Typical breakdown of job categories           • 80% of recruits are coming from within              452
                                                                                               400
  over the past years:                            Atlantic Canada.                              200

                                                                                                  0

    - 30% scientists                            • Career news mailing list and social media           2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

    - 20% quality control/assurance               audience is 3000 with a current annual                    Private Sector Companies          Public Sector Organizations

    - 40% production                              growth rate of 25%. This includes job
    - 10% business administration                 seekers, professionals with extensive
                                                  contacts in bioscience and referral
• Average biocluster employee retention           organizations who represent job seeker
  rate of 94%                                     audiences.
2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
6       PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

PEI BioAlliance HR Mission

The Prince Edward Island BioAlliance is a       • We will build strong HR working groups
collaborative and welcoming community             that share best practices and tackle
that supports rewarding career paths and          common challenges.
professional excellence to build successful
bioscience companies:                           • We will reach out to the larger community
                                                  to attract well-matched, strong candidates
• We will be responsive to the challenges         that will thrive within the PEI bioscience
  of individual bioscience companies and          community.
  find ways to successfully support their
  recruitment, retention and HR needs.          • We will strive to pass on a strong and
                                                  vibrant bioscience community to the next
• We will have an open-door approach              generation to build prosperity in PEI
  for those seeking careers and help them         which is based on our Island values of
  access job opportunities, mentoring and         perseverance, respect and cooperation.
  networking opportunities within the
  community.

• We will seek to establish HR best practices
  that support the growth of a sustainable
  and growing bioscience community.
2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
7       PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

PEI BioAlliance HR Role                                                                          Networking at
                                                                                                 Atlantic Veterinary College

One of the roles of the PEI BioAlliance is       • Work with universities/colleges and
to coordinate activities outlined in the HR        community organizations to highlight
Strategy. The first HR strategy was developed      bioscience opportunities for new graduates
in 2010. Since that time, the PEI BioAlliance
has collaborated with bioscience companies       • Consult with companies and participate
and academic and training institutions to          in HR working groups to strengthen HR
promote job opportunities, build HR best           best practices and address challenges and
practices, support skills development and          opportunities
generate public awareness of bioscience career
paths. Activities include:                       • Collaborate to raise the profile of the
                                                   PEI BioAlliance cluster nationally and
• Expand job seeker networks to attract            internationally to attract strong talent to
  well-qualified talent to the PEI bioscience      PEI which will drive innovation, population
  community                                        numbers and long-term economic growth

• Promote career opportunities through           • Conduct quarterly surveys to measure
  PEI BioAlliance website, e-news and              recruitment success and identify upcoming
  social media                                     recruitment needs

• Meet with job seekers who wish to access
  opportunities in the bioscience community
2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
8       PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Examples of Career Opportunities

The following are some examples of              PRODUCTION                            Operations Manager
careers within the bioscience community:                                              Business Development Manager/Representative
                                                Process Engineer                      Human Resources Manager
SCIENTIST/RESEARCH /LAB                         Process Development                   Payroll & Benefits Administrator
                                                Production Manager
Post Doc, Senior Scientist                      Engineering Technician
Research Scientist                              Chemical Process Operator             PEI BIOSCIENCE CLUSTER: VALUE PROPOSITION
Scientist R&D                                   Fermentation Technician               The talent pipeline
Analytical Research Chemist                     Production Technician                 Percentage of total university and college enrolments in
                                                                                      physical, life sciences and related technologies programs (2012)
Laboratory Technician                           Production Team Lead
Research Technician                             Facility Maintenance Technician                                                 9.8%
                                                Facility Manager
QUALITY ASSURANCE /QUALITY CONTROL
                                                SENIOR MANAGEMENT/                               5.1%
Quality Assurance Specialist                    BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Validation Manager
QA Associate, Validation                        CEO/General Manager
Quality Control Team Lead                       Vice President – Marketing/Finance/   All Canadian universities        Prince Edward Island
Regulatory Affairs Associate                    Operations                                  and colleges

                                                Marketing Manager                     Source: Statistics Canada CANSIM Table 477-0029.
2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
9   PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

                                            Assistant Hatchery Manager Jon Veinot
                                            displaying AquaBounty’s AquAdvantage
                                            Salmon that attain market size in half
                                            the time of conventional salmon
2020 PEI BioAlliance HR Strategy
10       PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Maritime Natural Products
Conference Delegates at UPEI

                                                 Process for Strategy Development
                                                 A survey was sent to all biocluster companies to gather feedback on key priorities for this
                                                 HR Strategy. The results are documented in Appendix B. As a follow up to the survey, the
                                                 Manager, HR Strategy visited companies to discuss their specific HR needs and to tour
                                                 their operations. A short survey was also sent to public organizations within our cluster
                                                 that are active employers. The following strategy reflects the priorities defined by the
                                                 bioscience cluster organizations to support growth over the next five years.
11      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Recruitment                      ATTRACT AND BUILD A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF SKILLED TALENT TO SUPPORT BIOSCIENCE COMPANY GROWTH

EXPAND NETWORKS TO MAXIMIZE                        • Collaborate with community organizations         • Create a list of online job sites that have
ACCESS TO SKILLED TALENT                             who assist job seekers to find employment          worked well for our cluster

• Expand networks to targeted audiences that       • Create a list of universities and colleges       • Encourage recruitment companies to
  reflect upcoming demand for specialized            where companies have successfully recruited        network within our community and set up
  skills and invite them to join the PEI             graduates, including a list of their annual        meetings with bioscience companies
  BioAlliance Career News mailing list,              career fairs and key contacts
  connect with us on social media and attend                                                          • Collaborate with BioTalent Canada to
  our networking events                            • Ensure there is good participation at key          maximize the benefit of their national job
                                                     university/college career fairs where we can       board
• Promote career opportunities through our           raise our profile as a strong community of
  website, e-news and social media to attract a      employers                                        • Continue to conduct HR quarterly surveys
  large following of well-matched job seekers                                                           to measure recruitment success and be
  and professionals with excellent networks of     • Encourage companies to build strong                proactive on challenges and opportunities
  high-quality talent                                professional networks to support their
                                                     specialized recruitment needs and identify       • Share findings of HR quarterly survey with
• Promote a welcoming “open-door”                    job boards within their industries                 cluster companies and public organizations,
  approach to meet with job seekers interested                                                          HR working groups and stakeholders
  in bioscience careers                            • Update the PEI BioAlliance Job Posting
                                                     page to give it a stronger image, as it is the
• Promote best practices for accessing               highest traffic page on our website with
  employment in the bioscience community             81,000 page views over past five years
12      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

RAISE AWARENESS OF BIOSCIENCE                      • Develop a recruitment welcome page              • Ensure employment news media are aware
COMPANIES TO ATTRACT TALENT                          template that companies can incorporate           of actively recruiting companies, so they
                                                     on their websites which will make a strong,       can include stories on their upcoming
• Profile headline company news but also             consistent impression with job seekers.           career opportunities
  smaller, interesting news items that highlight     This template would include a list of job
  activity and growth in the community               categories, education/skills required, work     • Encourage companies to apply to top
                                                     culture, overview of employee benefits,           employer lists to attract strong candidates
• Highlight company leadership to promote            email address for resumes, and, if available,
  plans for growth                                   the link to their online recruiting site        • Encourage companies to set up automatic
                                                     featuring current job postings.                   thank-you email replies to confirm with
• Host HR-focused bionetworking events                                                                 candidates they have received their resume/
  where companies can present their latest         • Update companies’ page on the PEI                 applications. This becomes increasingly
  business development news, highlight               BioAlliance website with links to their           important as we build strong candidate
  their work culture and promote                     home page and HR welcome page                     networks. We want to make a good
  recruitment needs                                                                                    impression and encourage candidates to
                                                                                                       reapply for future positions.
• Assist companies in building their social
  media strategies to highlight good news
  stories, participation at conferences/events      “I wanted some coaching on how best to approach the bioscience community
  and attract audiences interested in career
  opportunities                                     and make the best impression. I met with the PEI BioAlliance to discuss my

• Create a directory of companies’ social           resume and the companies that I researched. It put me on track and I followed
  media pages, so the entire community can
                                                    the best practices they suggested...they work!”        SOMRU BIOSCIENCE EMPLOYEE
  share good news/updates and together build
  a strong social media presence for the PEI
  bioscience cluster
13       PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

“The PEI BioAlliance
hosts regular HR-focused
bionetworking events where
companies can present
their latest developments.
It was an opportunity for us
to highlight our company
and promote upcoming
recruitment opportunities.”
ELANCO
14      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

ATTRACT AND RETAIN TOP TALENT TO                 • Tap into existing community groups              a competitive employee package. If they are
WORK IN THE PEI BIOSCIENCE COMMUNITY               that organize programs and activities           not able to offer competitive salaries, help
                                                   for newcomers and find ways we can              them strategize ways to offer other valuable
• Promote PEI as a place to enjoy a rewarding      collaborate with them to make new families      non-monetary benefits that would be
  career in bioscience and still have valuable     to PEI feel at home                             appealing to employees.
  time to enjoy a great family life, a good
  standard of living and a healthy work/life     • Feature links on our website of community      • Highlight programs supporting recruitment
  balance                                          resources and activities which would be          to enhance opportunities for companies to
                                                   valuable to newcomers working in the PEI         offer competitive salaries
• Highlight our strong bioscience community        bioscience community
  culture that welcomes employees and their                                                       • Promote our conferences and bionetworking
  families                                       • Promote the total package of advantages          events that attract high-level international
                                                   of working in bioscience in PEI to new           industry leaders to PEI, so employees can
• Build a strong network and support system        graduates. Highlight emerging/high-growth        see that the PEI bioscience cluster is truly
  to make employees new to PEI feel welcome        companies, professional development              connected to the world. Emphasize the
  in our community                                 and career advancement opportunities,            message that great things are happening
                                                   competitive compensation and benefit             here in the bioscience community.
• In cooperation with the HR working               plans, reasonable cost of living and good
  groups, create ways for spouses/partners         communities to raise a family.                 • Collaborate with government partners
  of employees to connect with each other                                                           involved in population attraction activities
  and community resources, identify specific     • Encourage companies to access the latest         to tap into best practices and resources.
  challenges we could assist with, and invite      national compensation and benefits data          Make sure our communications are well
  them to send us their resumes which we can       offered by BioTalent Canada, so local            aligned with their established brand.
  circulate among our networks                     companies can feel assured they are offering
15     PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

“I graduated from UPEI with a B.Sc. and found work within a month of graduation. I feel that I
have the best of both worlds. I can still manage my horse farm and build a rewarding career.
My family moved here from New England in 2009 and I am so happy that I can stay. I love PEI.”
BIOVECTRA EMPLOYEE
16      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

BUILD COLLABORATIONS WITH                        • Encourage opportunities where students
SECONDARY AND POST-SECONDARY                       can benefit from industry experience
INSTITUTIONS TO SECURE A STRONG                    e.g. co-op and OJT programs, Career
FUTURE WORKFORCE                                   Prep Program, NSERC’s Industrial
                                                   Undergraduate Research Student Award
• Increase connections among secondary,
  post-secondary and bioscience companies        • Promote student-rate registrations to
  to promote career paths and build a strong       BioAlliance conferences and encourage
  future workforce in bioscience                   students to participate as a way to build
                                                   their networks and industry knowledge
• Welcome university and college career office
  professionals to take part in our bioscience   • Find ways to collaborate with post-
  community, join our mailing lists and            secondary marketing students on special
  attend our networking events                     projects/assignments where they could         • Create opportunities for mentorship
                                                   help raise the awareness of the bioscience      between bioscience companies and students
• Work with Holland College and UPEI               companies and business careers in
  to promote the Bachelor of Science in            bioscience                                    • Capitalize on programs that bring together
  Biotechnology and two-year diploma                                                               research students and bioscience companies
  program to high school students                • Feature stories of graduates who found          through programs like those offered by
                                                   opportunities in the PEI bioscience cluster     NSERC and Springboard Atlantic
• Invite students to join our community and        where they can share how they built their
  encourage them to network with potential         careers
  future employers at BioAlliance events
17   PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

                                             “Holland College and the PEI BioAlliance,
                                             along with the PEI bioscience companies,
                                             have a strong working relationship through
                                             the Advisory Committee and OJT Program.”
                                             MICHAEL GIBSON, PH.D., LEARNING MANAGER, HOLLAND COLLEGE
                                             BIOSCIENCE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
18      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

REDUCE BARRIERS TO RECRUITING                    • Build collective knowledge to help
SPECIALIZED INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATES               companies streamline the process as much
                                                   as possible, so the employees can begin
• Host information sessions on hiring              work with companies sooner
  international workers and challenges e.g.
  the new requirement for work permit
  holders to apply for permanent residency as
  part of the work permit renewal process
                                                  “PEI Association for Newcomers to
• Identify key local resources that can assist
  companies in hiring international workers       Canada’s Employment Assistance

                                                  Service (EAS) has clients that are
• Invite bioscience companies to share best
  practices on hiring international workers       highly qualified in scientific areas. EAS

• Connect with key government contacts
                                                  collaborates with the PEI BioAlliance
  that can offer us the latest updates/changes    to ensure that newcomers are aware of
  e.g. Express Entry Program and offer
  timely advice on challenges companies           the growing prospects for employment
  are experiencing in hiring international        with bioscience companies on PEI.”
  candidates
                                                  PEI ASSOCIATION FOR NEWCOMERS TO CANADA
                                                                                              CATC employee Tiago Hori
• Seek advice on how to assess international
                                                                                              becoming a Canadian Citizen, joined
  credentials so qualified newcomers to                                                       by his wife Kim Johnstone from
  Canada can access opportunities                                                             Synapse and their daughter Gabriela
19      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

MAXIMIZE ENGAGEMENT IN PROGRAMS
SUPPORTING RECRUITMENT

• Host regular information sessions where
  funders can discuss their programs
  supporting recruitment and receive
  feedback from employers

• Promote programs supporting recruitment          HR BioNetworking
  as a way to offset the challenges of accessing   Event at UPEI
  capital to finance recruitment and striving
  to offer a competitive salary. Highlight and
  regularly promote our user-friendly chart
  that links to all programs that support
  recruitment.

• Address the program gap that NSERC and
  MITACs have left in PEI with the loss of
  programs that supported recruitment of
  post-doctoral candidates
20      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Retention                BUILD A STRONG WORKFORCE THAT WILL DRIVE BUSINESS GROWTH AND ENJOY PROFESSIONALLY REWARDING CAREERS

• Build strategies to support retention           • Promote compensation and benefits
  for emerging companies that are hiring            data provided by BioTalent Canada, so
  candidates integral to their early growth         companies can stay informed of competitive
  and for high-growth companies that are            salary levels and benefits packages
  creating employment opportunities
                                                  • Share knowledge of good professional
• Promote workshops and conferences on              development courses through HR working
  employee engagement that offer ideas              groups
  companies could adopt
                                                  • Make sure spouses/partners of “new-to-PEI”    BioNetworking Event at NRC
• In the HR working groups, invite companies        employees have access to resources to build
  to share employee engagement ideas                rewarding careers in PEI which will support
                                                    retention of key talent
• Encourage companies to invite their
  employees to join the BioAlliance mailing
  list, so they can learn about networking
  and social events and feel part of the larger
  bioscience community
21   PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

                                                                                   Clyde River, PEI

“Attending the PEI Bioscience networking events is so important to making key connections.
I attended a PEI BioAlliance networking event and had a chance connect with senior
managers of the bioscience companies. I just graduated with an M.Sc. and am happy to
say that I am now employed as a result of the contacts that I made.” UPEI GRADUATE
22      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

HR Support                      COLLABORATE TO BUILD STRONG AND CONSISTENT HR CAPACITY

• Maintain a page on the PEI BioAlliance          • Research HR best practices that will offer     multiple duties taking care of HR, so their
  website (with printable PDF version) that         guidance and inspiration for companies         time is limited. This group will allow a
  summarizes current HR support services            as they strive for attraction and retention    dialogue around individual and common
  provided by the PEI BioAlliance along with        excellence                                     needs. We can tap into customized HR
  HR specialist services available within the                                                      resources to build consistent HR capacity
  community                                       • Create an HR working group for the             that will support recruitment, retention and
                                                    largest bioscience companies who have HR       company growth.
• Develop a Human Resource Blog/News                departments and specific HR experiences
  page of timely features and stories as a way      and needs                                     • Offer one-to-one customized consultation
  to keep recruitment, training programs and                                                        with companies new to PEI on HR
  HR tools/resources top of mind                  • Establish a second HR working group             resources and services available to them.
                                                    dedicated to smaller and mid-size emerging      Introduce them to HR resources and
• Promote the HR resources offered by               companies that do not typically have            specialists who can help build their HR
  BioTalent Canada and invite them to add           in-house HR expertise. Right now the            capacity.
  timely items and partnership offers to our        majority of companies have a CEO/PEI-
  HR news page                                      based manager or employee managing
23   PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

        “As a smaller company, it is valuable to us to tap into the PEI BioAlliance and
        larger cluster community to seek advice and share ideas on HR best practices.”
        AQUABOUNTY TECHNOLOGIES
24      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Skills Development
BUILD A CULTURE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING TO SUPPORT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION AND DRIVE GROWTH

• Take advantage of the Canada-PEI Jobs           • Share ideas on valuable courses, workshops   • Encourage on-the-job training and
  Grant initiative to support regular, cluster-     or conferences through HR working groups       co-op initiatives for students to prepare
  wide training sessions for cGMP, Project                                                         for the workforce and open up career
  Management and Leadership/Management            • Identify training opportunities that will      opportunities
  training                                          offset any common skills gaps for new
                                                    recruits                                     • Through the Connecting and Advancing
• Collaborate with companies to build strong                                                       Women in the Bio-economy local chapter,
  management capacity to support those            • Encourage opportunities for researchers        promote mentorship and professional
  going through rapid growth and succession         to be engaged with industry which will         development
  planning                                          help bridge the gap in transitioning from
                                                    academia to business
• Identify training opportunities that support
  understanding of business fundamentals
25     PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

 “We are always interested in ensuring Dalhousie students and recent graduates are aware
 of possible employment opportunities in PEI. Many of our students attend the university
 from across Atlantic Canada, across the country and internationally. Not only do we receive
 job notifications, we are helping increase our students’ awareness of opportunities in PEI.
 Thank you.” SCIENCE, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION - DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY

 Clyde River, PEI
26      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Community Outreach                               BUILD ON CURRENT SUCCESS AND CREATE PROSPERITY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

• Create a welcoming environment to show           • Invite the community to our social media      PEI BIOSCIENCE CLUSTER: IN CONTEXT
  the success happening in bioscience and            pages to stay current on the latest company   The PEI cluster is emerging as an important player on
  how developments are helping to drive the          and bioscience community news                 the national stage
  Island economy and providing good quality,                                                       Biologists and related scientists per 10,000 in the labour
  stable jobs for Islanders                        • Coach companies to take advantage of          market

                                                     social media and opportunities to speak to                                           19.7%
• Regularly feature profiles of employees            their online communities
  working in the cluster and highlight                                                                       12.7%
  rewarding careers and work/life balance          • Find opportunities to build national
                                                     awareness of the PEI bioscience cluster
• Take advantage of speaking opportunities
  across PEI to promote the bioscience cluster     • Advocate for improvement in K-12
  and answer questions they may have on              education                                               Canada              Prince Edward Island

  accessing opportunities                                                                          Source: Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey.

• Collaborate with employment news media
  and specialized publications to regularly         “The good news stories about the people and companies in the PEI bioscience
  highlight company stories and professionals
                                                    cluster show what is possible, and it is good to know that our children have options if
  in bioscience
                                                    they wish to work close to home.” DR. RUSS KERR, CHAIR, PEI BIOALLIANCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
27   PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

                    Natural Products
                    Conference at UPEI
28      PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Conclusion
Over the past five years, the PEI bioscience       skills and experience. We encourage job         We are promoting a culture of training to
cluster has averaged a 94% employee retention      seekers to attend our networking events to      build knowledge and skills for professional
rate. We have 43 companies and over 1400           establish contacts and access employment. We    and corporate growth.
employees with a target of 2000 by 2020.           promote programs that support recruitment.
Private employee numbers have tripled in the                                                       The PEI BioAlliance and its partner
past 10 years. The momentum is set. Our            At least 80% of jobs are filled from Atlantic   organizations recognized from the early
vision is clear.                                   Canada with a large portion of candidates       days that the quality of human resources
                                                   from Prince Edward Island. We receive           within the PEI BioCluster, from business,
We have high interest in bioscience careers        positive feedback from professionals moving     to science, to manufacturing, to support
with 25% annual audience growth which              to PEI about our well-organized approach to     services, is a critical enabler of the growth
is increasingly targeted to top talent and         recruitment.                                    and development of the Cluster. This Strategy
bioscience professionals with targeted                                                             continues to build on that recognition and,
networks. Our mailing list and social media        We encourage networking at PEI BioAlliance      properly executed, will continue to yield
audiences are the first to hear about bioscience   events. Time and time again we see where        necessary results.
careers featured on our website.                   those job seekers who attend events have
                                                   higher success in finding employment. We
We are focused on expanding our networks.          also invite community group representatives
We participate in events and career fairs. We      who work with job seekers to join us as
invite job seekers to meet with us to discuss      well which has led to excellent working
their career goals and to identify which           collaborations with their clients wishing to
companies would be a good match for their          access careers.
29     A PPENDI X

Appendix A              PEI BIOSCIENCE CLUSTER ORGANIZATIONS

PRIVATE COMPANIES                            Island Abbey Foods                      PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS
                                             Island Water Technologies
Advanced Extraction Systems                  MicroSintesis                           Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Affinity Immuno                              Murphy Laboratories                     BioFoodTech
Aqua Bounty Canada                           Nature’s Crops International            Holland College & Canada’s Smartest Kitchen
ARK Bio-Medical Canada                       Nautilus Biosciences Canada             Innovation PEI
Armentum                                     Neurodyn                                National Research Council
Atlantec BioEnergy                           NeuroQuest                              Atlantic Veterinary College
Atlantech Companies                          OmniActive Health Technologies Canada   UPEI
Avivagen Animal Health                       Origins Extraction
BioSpa                                       Precise AI
BioVectra                                    Phytocultures
Cana-Add                                     Pure Pharmaceuticals                    PEI BIOCLUSTER COMPANY GROW TH
Canada’s Island Garden                       Potato Quality Institute                                                                              43
Center for Aquaculture Technologies Canada   Regis Duffy Bioscience Fund             40
                                                                                                                                     38
                                                                                                                                           40

                                                                                                                             36
CNS-CRO                                      Retrevium                               35
                                                                                                                      33
Delivra                                      RPS Biologiques                         30                         30
                                                                                                         27
Diversified Metal Engineering                Sekisui Diagnostics P.E.I.              25           25

Elanco                                       Sevita International                    20
GRW Laboratories                             Solarvest                                     16
                                                                                     15
Halibut PEI                                  Somru Biosciences
                                                                                     10
Handyman Labs                                Timeless Veterinary Systems
HZPC Canada                                  Virotechnologies                         5

Intervivo                                    ViTRAK Systems                           0   2004   2007   2008   2009   2011   2012   2013   2014   2015
30             PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Appendix B                                          BIOSCIENCE COMPANIES SURVEY SUMMARY

An online survey was conducted with PEI Bioscience Cluster companies along with follow-
up tours/interviews. There were 24 company survey respondents, which represented the most
actively recruiting companies.

What HR professionals/resources do you currently have within your company?

Employee	
  handles	
  HR	
  &	
  other	
  duties

                CEO/PEI	
  Based	
  M anager

                            HR	
  Department

       One	
  employee	
  dedicated	
  to	
  HR

                                                    0     2      4      6     8      10   12
31           A PPENDI X

      RECRUITMENT

Q#3
      Where do you typically recruit talent for the following job categories? (Choose all that apply.)

        BioAlliance	
  W ebsite

        Employee	
  Networks

        Regional	
  Job	
  Boards

                    Company	
  

      Professional	
  Networks

           Large	
  Job	
  Boards

       Universities/Colleges

                      LinkedIn

                    Recruiters

                     PetriDish

                                    0   5     10           15         20           25             30                 35   40   45   50

                                            Scientists   QA/QC   Production   Business	
  Admin   Senior	
  M gmt.

      Other places they advertise are HRDC job bank, industry association sites and Holland College
      Bioscience Program.
32        PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

What strategies do you use to raise your company’s profile to attract good recruits and how
do you rate their effectiveness? (Choose all that apply.)

     BioAlliance	
  Communications
                 Company	
  W ebsite
Industry	
  Exhibitions/Trade	
  Shows
             Industry	
  Conferences
                        Career	
  Fairs
                             Print	
  PR
                          Recruiters

                                           0          2        4           6        8             10   12   14   16

                                               Low	
  value   Moderate	
  Value   High	
  Value

Other ways they raise profile are community service, employee referrals, peer reviewed
publications and technical journals.
33             A PPENDI X

Q#5   What are your recruitment challenges? (Choose all that apply.)                                               COMMENTS
                                                                                                                   • Challenges to maintain staff
                                                                                                                   • Spousal employment
                    Challenges	
  to	
  find	
  skilled	
  talent
                                                                                                                   • We are lucky in that we have been
                                                                                                                     successful with the staff we have hired
                             No	
  significant	
  challenges                                                         over the past 5-6 years. We have minimal
                                                                                                                     turnover. We had two positions in the past
                                                 PEI	
  location                                                     3-4 years which were difficult to fill, but we
                                                                                                                     certainly did not go a really long time with
                   Capital	
  to	
  	
  recruit	
  needed	
  talent                                                  a vacant position.
                                                                                                                   • Finding engineers with specialized
      Available	
  programs	
  to	
  support	
  recruitment
                                                                                                                     knowledge is challenging.
                                                                      0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10
                                                                                                                   • Had good luck hiring grads and bringing
                                                                                                                     them along
                                                                                                                   • As a new company, the budget for top talent
                                                                                                                     often is not there even if we could interest
                                                                                                                     them in the position. We are growing
                                                                                                                     people into the roles we need filled.
                                                                                                                   • With our rural location, the recruitment
                                                                                                                     challenges with young professions are even
                                                                                                                     further amplified (K-12 education and
                                                                                                                     health care).
34            PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

What are your most challenging types of positions to recruit? (Choose all that apply.)

Scientists	
  with	
  specialized	
  knowledge

                  No	
  specific	
  challenges                                                    Comments included difficulty finding
                                                                                                  subject matter experts, engineers and
                    Senior	
  M anagement
                                                                                                  molecular biologists with fish experience.
                                Production

                                                 0   1   2   3    4   5    6   7    8   9    10

What post-secondary institutions do you hire graduates from? (Choose all that apply.)

                          Holland	
  College

                                       UPEI

 Other	
  Atlantic	
  Universities/Colleges

Other	
  Canadian	
  Universities/Colleges

   International	
  universities/colleges

                                                 0       5       10       15       20       25
35             A PPENDI X

When you are considering applicants from outside Canada,
are there any barriers/challenges?

                                                              COMMENTS

         Not	
  applicable
                                                              • The biggest challenge with hiring internationally
                                                                now is where work permit holders are required to
                                                                apply for permanent residency now as part of the
                                                                work permit renewal process.
No	
  significant	
  barriers                                 • As a start up, we had some issues meeting the
                                                                salaries dictated using the LMO process. It does not
                                                                account for additional compensation incentives.
    Significant	
  barriers                                   • The barriers that we have encountered are assessing
                                                                credentials. Those that we choose to interview are
                                                                usually exceptionally suited to the position/have
                                0   2   4   6   8   10   12
                                                                regulatory or applied research experience. Getting
                                                                them into Canada can be a trial, but there is good
                                                                support from PEI Immigration.
                                                              • The only barrier is time delay in completing visa
                                                                paperwork etc.
                                                              • Language can be a barrier. Sometimes language
                                                                level listed does not match with actual candidates.
                                                              • The time frame and work required to hire someone
                                                                from US is high.
36           PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

What programs have you accessed to support recruitment? (Choose all that apply.)

                                  Holland	
  College	
  OJT	
  Program

                                Skills	
  PEI	
  Graduate	
  M entorship

NSERC	
  Industrial	
  Undergraduate	
  Student	
  Research	
  Award

                                  Skills	
  PEI	
  Employ	
  PEI	
  Program

                                   UPEI	
  Co-­‐op	
  Student	
  Program

             BioTalent	
  Canada	
  Career	
  W age	
  Focus	
  Program

                                 Skills	
  PEI	
  Career	
  Prep	
  Program

                                                                              0   2   4   6   8   10   12   14   16   18

COMMENTS
• Companies also benefit from the PEI Labour Rebate Grant.
• We do not typically use the undergrad or grad student programs because it is a relatively large
  investment in time for someone who might not stay.
• We like to recruit using the post-doc tools; however, the only program available to us for post
  docs that does not require an academic partnership is the Innovation PEI Program.
37             A PPENDI X

      To the best of your knowledge, based on your strategic planning, how many employees                     COMMENTS
      would you estimate you will be recruiting in each of the next five years?                               • Reasonably-priced office space to house
                                                                                                                additional employees that is still close
      Companies estimated three to five years out. It looks like we will at least maintain our rate of          to the main research facility
      creating 100 jobs per year and will likely exceed this projection.                                      • Running out of places to put people
                                                                                                                already!

#11   As you plan your recruitment over the next five years, what do you think could become a
      challenge in achieving these recruitment goals? (Choose all that apply.)

                              Access	
  to	
  capital

      Challenges	
  finding	
  specialized	
  skills

                       Management	
  capacity

        Business	
  development	
  challenges

         Delays	
  due	
  to	
  regulatory	
  process

                             Training	
  required

      Don't	
  foresee	
  significant	
  challenges

                                                        0   2   4   6   8       10       12        14    16
38              PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

     Are there any additional comments you have about recruitment that should be considered
     as we develop our new HR Strategy?

     • There are a lot of funding opportunities to hire new grads and provide training, but not a lot
       of help to fund high-level managers/contractors.
     • Tools should be focused on companies of all sizes. Smaller companies/those with less
       HR expertise have different needs from those with entire HR departments. Up-to-date
       compensation information is also very valuable.
     • Any information regarding funds/programs available for recruitment

     RETENTION

13   What are your key retention issues?

                               Retention	
  is	
  not	
  a	
  problem

                          No	
  significant	
  retention	
  issues

      Employee	
  spouse	
  unable	
  to	
  find	
  employment

     Not	
  able	
  to	
  offer	
  competitive	
  salaries/benefits

                                                    PEI	
  location

      Not	
  able	
  to	
  offer	
  advancement	
  opportunities

                                                                        0   2   4   6   8   10   12   14
39      A PPENDI X

Have you identified barriers to employee retention from formal or informal exit interviews?

• Tough winter season
• Lack of major city
• Young singles do not adapt well here
• We have never lost an employee
• Remuneration - having to compete with institutions like UPEI

For your employees that have located or relocated to PEI, what are some of the advantages
they see in living and working on the Island?

• Most comments related to family-friendly location
• Good work/life balance
• Lower cost of living
• Safe and strong communities, small-town feel
• Friendly people
• Short, easy commutes between home and work
• Peaceful and relaxed lifestyle
• Opportunity to work with international companies
• Capacity for aquaculture expertise on Island and within region
• Friendly, family-feel within small, growing companies
• Lots of potential for career development
• No relocations
40                 PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

What strategies have you applied to support retention that have worked well?

                       Employment	
  engagement	
  activities

             Competitive	
  compensation	
  &	
  benefits	
  plan

                Professional	
  development	
  opportunities

Support	
  for	
  employee	
  spouse	
  to	
  adapt	
  to	
  community

                                                                         0   2   4   6   8   10   12   14   16

Comments included “offering an interesting job in a pleasant environment”.

Are there any additional comments you have about retention that should be considered as
we develop our new HR Strategy?

• Create a way for spouses/partners and newcomers to PEI and Canada to connect with each
  other to help ease the transition to their new community
• Compensation health packages for start-ups
41      A PPENDI X

HR SUPPORT & RESOURCES

What are your most critical current/near future HR priorities?

We received a broad range of responses which offers a good snapshot:

• GMP knowledge                                  • Marketing support
• Retaining staff for the longer term            • Hiring additional production team
• Updating and completing HR policies              members
• Finding candidates with specified skills and   • Being able to pay senior managers
  education                                        competitive salaries
• Managing our fast growth                       • Specialized skills
• Continuing to develop our current team         • Filling our management level positions and
• Senior management                                completing staffing for our expansion
• Finding someone to take over day-to-day        • Information for both employers and
  administration of lab duties so Operations       employees
  Director can focus on clients and bring in     • Filling an engineering position
  new projects                                   • Finding and attracting qualified staff to PEI
• Capital for recruitment                        • Retaining employees because better paying,
• Space to house future hires                      government program financed positions are
• Establishing HR policies as we continue          being offered
  to grow
42              PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Rating of the PEI BioAlliance services to support the HR needs of companies:

           Organizing	
  training	
  opportunities

                 BioAlliance	
  job	
  p ostings	
  p age

                  Building	
  national	
  awareness

                   Gathering	
  HR	
  best	
  practices

  Promoting	
  companies/careers	
  in	
  media

                       HR	
  resources	
  on	
  website

            Careers	
  p romos	
  on	
  social	
  media

                    Career	
  e-­‐news	
  notification

                      Meeting	
  with	
  job	
  seekers

         Linkages	
  to	
  HR	
  specialists/services

Outreach	
  to	
  build	
  job	
  seeker	
  mailing	
  lists

                                HR-­‐focused	
  events

 Tracking	
  HR	
  progress	
  -­‐ Quarterly	
  Survey

                                                               0        5                              10                                 15   20   25

                                                                   High	
  Value   Moderate	
  Value        Low	
  Value   Not	
  aware
43           A PPENDI X

What items and topics would companies find valuable as we upgrade the PEI BioAlliance
website and printed HR materials?

Website	
  page/PDF	
  summarizing	
  PEIBA	
  HR	
  services/resources

                  HR	
  Blog	
  with	
  updates,	
  news,	
  company	
  stories

                Career/education	
  options	
  targeted	
  to	
  students

                                       Employee	
  career	
  path	
  stories

            Stories	
  celebrating	
  talent	
  in	
  bioscience	
  community

                                                                                  0   2   4   6   8   10   12   14   16   18   20
44            PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

The PEI BioAlliance has a partnership with BioTalent Canada to tap into national
resources. How valuable are these resources to you?

Promote	
  bio-­‐economy	
  needs	
  to	
  Fed.	
  Gov.

      Career	
  Focus	
  W age	
  Subsidy	
  Program

              Benefits,	
  e.g.	
  partner	
  discounts

                    Labour	
  market	
  Information

   Special	
  projects	
  that	
  address	
  skills	
  gaps

                              PetriDish	
  Job	
  Board

                                                              0           5                           10                             15   20   25

                                                                  High	
  Value   Moderate	
  Value    Low	
  Value   Not	
  aware

COMMENT
Suggest a plan that supports R&D positions in high-risk endeavours wherein revenue is not
expected to accrue from the R&D for 3-5 years.
45                A PPENDI X

     What types of labour market information would you find valuable?

     • Current wage and compensation                • Financial and staff information
       information                                  • Education news
     • Information on employee benefits             • Career news
     • Job descriptions                             • Growth year over year by skill and job
     • Examples of HR policies                      • Stock option plans
23   • Industry information relating to different   • Access to info on what talent is available
       companies

     How valuable is the PEI HR Toolkit?

                                                                                                             The PEI HR Toolkit is
     Have	
  not	
  used	
  it
                                                                                                             managed by the Greater
                                                                                                             Charlottetown Chamber
     Moderate	
  value                                                                                       of Commerce and
                                                                                                             offers a broad range of
              Low	
  value                                                                                   local HR resources and
                                                                                                             templates.
             High	
  value

                                 0   2         4          6              8             10          12   14
46            PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

What HR practices do you have in place?

Employee	
  health	
  &	
  safety	
  policies

                       Job	
  descriptions

    Compensation	
  &	
  benefits	
  plan

                 Company	
  HR	
  policies

          Professional	
  development

               Engagement	
  activities

                Performance	
  reviews

                  Formal	
  recruitment

                   Incentive	
  programs

                                                0     5                    10                            15                      20   25   30

                                                          Yes   No   Have	
  plans	
  to	
  add   Looking	
  for	
  ideas/info
47     A PPENDI X

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

What are your most critical current/near future skills development priorities?

• GMP Knowledge
• Sales & Marketing
• Succession Planning

How do you currently handle training in your company? What types of training take place?

• Most comments related to some combination      • We encourage employees to participate in     • We offer in-house training on biosafety,
  of internal and outsourced training.             professional development opportunities,        TDG, WHMIS, First Aid, GLP and
• Training encompasses administration,             when relevant and when possible.               animal ethics.
  accounting, QC                                 • When equipment is installed, the vendor      • Senior scientists provide training.
• Training is accomplished via SOPs and OJT.       provides training for staff.                 • A training program is in place for each
• Technical, soft skills, lean manufacturing     • Training occurs on an as-needed basis when     position.
  and six sigma                                    time permits.                                • We have a company training manual.
• Job specific training programs to move up      • Employees self train.                        • Internal production and manufacturing
  skills ladder                                  • We like online training but send employees     training
                                                   to specific training as required.
48               PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

Q#28
       How valuable have you found the Canada-PEI Jobs Grant as a way to offer training for employees?

           Have	
  not	
  used	
  program

              Pleased	
  with	
  program

       Have	
  plans	
  to	
  use	
  program

                        Had	
  challenges

                                                 0                        2       4       6       8        10        12        14    16

       What types of training would you like offered to on a cluster-wide basis?

                                                                                                                                    One more suggestion included
                           Project	
  management	
  training
                                                                                                                                    Dangerous Goods Air Training.

                     Management/leadership	
  training

       Re-­‐offer	
  the	
  3-­‐day	
  cGMP	
  training	
  each	
  year

                                                                          0   2       4       6   8   10        12        14   16
49            A PPENDI X

#30   What has been your experience in hiring graduates from post-secondary institutions?

                             Holland	
  College

                                           UPEI

      Other	
  Atlantic	
  Canada	
  universities

              Other	
  Canadian	
  universities

                 International	
  universities

                                                    0                  5                        10                            15              20   25

                                                        Very	
  good       Satisfactory   Not	
  satisfactory   Have	
  not	
  hired	
  any

      COMMENT
      More on-the-job training is required. Students don’t learn how to take their book knowledge
      and apply it to practical working experiences.
50        PE I BIOA L L I A NCE H R S T RAT EGY

What else should be considered as we develop our HR Strategy?                                 “We were looking for an engineer
                                                                                              with specialized experience. We
• Continue to identify funding opportunities for companies to hire experienced staff/senior
  level positions                                                                             communicated our need to the PEI
• Have HR resources to find answers to questions on stat holidays, handbooks, snow
                                                                                              BioAlliance. The very next day, a well-
  policies, for example
• Information on changes in demographics                                                      matched engineer who was making
• Bridging the gap between academia and commercial applications – new staff from an
                                                                                              plans to move to PEI contacted the
  academic base sometimes have a hard time transitioning to industry
                                                                                              PEI BioAlliance for assistance. The
                                                                                              lead was forwarded to us, and we
                                                                                              hired them. That’s teamwork!”
                                                                                              ISLAND WATER TECHNOLOGIES

Center for Aquaculture Technologies, Souris, PEI
51      A PPENDI X

     Island Water Technologies
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