To Build a Stable Life Sciences Workforce, Make Earn-While-You-Learn the Standard

Across the United States, the life sciences sector is undergoing a structural shift driven by a strategic commitment to reshoring manufacturing; state-of-the-art facilities are breaking ground nationwide at an unprecedented rate. However, these modern sites bring complex, evolving demands for the domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing workforce. These include competencies in automation engineering, continuous manufacturing, digital fluency, and artificial intelligence.

Traditional secondary and postsecondary instruction play a crucial role in developing foundational knowledge; however, high schools and colleges struggle to keep pace with the rapid changes affecting the life-sciences industry. Fulfilling the promise of pharmaceutical manufacturing reshoring requires targeted, industry-aligned programming that addresses two core imperatives: generating a robust talent pipeline capable of staffing new facilities across the U.S., and upskilling incumbent workers to succeed alongside emerging technologies.

That is where Registered Apprenticeship comes in.

An apprenticeship contains basic building blocks of paid training and on-the-job instruction. In the U.S., it’s traditionally been found in the building trades, but it’s more applicable than ever to high-skill technical work.

Through my work at Apprenti, a leading apprenticeship nonprofit, I’ve helped employers and industry partners use apprenticeship to meet evolving business needs. We offer apprenticeships in more than 30 occupations across all industries, each of which is registered with the federal government – ensuring alignment with standard skill sets for each occupation and opening the door to various federal and non-federal funding streams.

Through our Registered Apprenticeship services, employees get paid and receive mentorship starting on day one, while the employer develops talent ready to hit the ground running in real jobs.

Apprenticeship should be a standard component of any employer’s talent strategy. Apprenticeships can not only fill difficult-to-staff roles but also upskill incumbent workers and create clearer advancement pathways.

The business case is clear: 89 percent of apprentices who complete Apprenti’s programs are retained by their employer. Approximately half of our current apprentices are incumbent workers—evidence that the model can support both recruitment and internal talent development.

What Employers Should Consider Before Launching a Program

In my work helping employers and industry partners implement Registered Apprenticeship, I have found that the strongest programs start with a clear workforce problem and a clear definition of success.

Before launching, employers should ask:

• What business problem are we trying to solve? Start with the workforce need: persistent skills gaps, high recruiting costs, turnover, changing technology, or the need to develop employees for new responsibilities?
• Are we hiring for credentials or for the skills the job actually requires? Degree and experience requirements can screen out capable workers who developed relevant skills through other educational experiences, military service, or previous work experience.
• Can training be tied directly to the work? Technical instruction, mentorship, and on-the-job learning should map to the actual competencies employees need in their roles.
• What can we manage internally, and where do we need support? Employers should determine where an apprenticeship provider can bring value. Which program areas are most burdensome? These could include program design, registration and compliance, training, securing outside funding, or data and reporting.
• How will we measure success? Define goals upfront through measures such as retention, completion, time to productivity, recruiting costs, internal mobility, advancement, or success filling hard-to-staff roles.
• Does the program create value for both the employer and the worker? The strongest apprenticeship strategies solve a business problem, while broadening the talent pool. This combination drives scalability and sustainability.

Scaling Requires Shared Infrastructure

Through recent partnerships with MassBioEd, BioSTL, and The Wistar Institute, Apprenti is now connecting regional industry expertise with a national implementation infrastructure, enabling us to scale smoothly into new occupations, employers, and geographies across the country. Scale does not require every apprenticeship program to look identical. Apprenticeship is designed to be responsive to the needs of each employer, occupation, and location. What should become easier to replicate is the process for building them. This will provide the industry with turnkey apprenticeship programming to ensure consistency across sites and geographical regions.

Build Talent Instead of Competing For it

Employers have long treated workforce shortages primarily as a recruiting challenge. But when skills are in short supply, recruiting alone is not enough. Employers need to complement external hiring with an internal talent development strategy.

Life sciences is well-positioned to do that. The industry already values structured learning, rigorous standards, mentorship, and continuous improvement. Registered Apprenticeship applies those same principles through a proven framework that can be tailored to specific roles, skill needs, and business priorities.

The opportunity is not to replace recruiting, but to expand the ways employers build the talent they need. Done well, apprenticeship can become the default path for new hires to enter life sciences, and a common way for those in the field to level up their skills. We’re ready to replicate what has worked well at the regional level anywhere in the country.