INNOPHARMA Education have announced the launch of a second Springboard+ funded programme in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Operations due to current high demand.
his course has been run in Limerick since 2014 with participants securing employment in the Medical Device, Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical sector. Previous course participants have secured employment in local companies such as Amneal, Beckman Coulter, Cook Medical, Edwards Life Science, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Regeneron, SSE (Specialised Sterile Environments), Stryker, Teleflex Medical and Zimmer.
This Level 6 Programme in Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices can be completed at a pace that can fit around working commitments in a flexible manner and Innopharma Education have also developed its own additional online modules that are used to supplement learning.
Joe Leddin, Regional Skills Manager stated that “talent is the number determining factor for companies and we are extremely fortunate to have a growing cluster of companies in the Pharma and Med-Tech area that are experiencing positive employment growth as they expand their operations to meet market demands. This additional course is a reflection on our agility as a region to respond and meet the growing skills needs of these industry sectors with students assured of promising and rewarding careers”.
Regardless of your career background there are a range of job roles that can be secured post the programme including Production Operator/Technician, Maintenance Technicians, Team Leaders, Manufacturing Supervisors, Process Improvement roles, Administration, Quality Control or Quality Assurance.
The strong existing base of IDA clients in the medical device and pharmaceutical sector and recent investments by companies like Regeneron and MeiraGTx strongly endorses the Midwest’s and Ireland’s reputation as a key location for the Life Sciences sector according to Will Corcoran, Regional Manager, Mid West IDA Ireland.
John Lynch, Plant leader at Johnson & Johnson Vision said “We welcome the launch of the second Springboard+ funded level 6 programme in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Operations. We have a high demand for these skills here in Johnson & Johnson Vision and the mid-west. It works well for us that this course can fit around work schedules and we have now a number of employees from this programme’.
Innopharma Education also offer a suite of follow up programmes that allow participants to continue their learning and upskilling while in employment in order to advance their careers up to and including Level 9 masters programmes. To date over 850 students been trained through the Limerick programmes in the past 6 years to support the Mid-West and wider Western regions.
Springboard+ programmes at Level 6 are free to both unemployed and employed and as an training provider we are delighted to partner with the Regional Skills forum in response to the skills needs in these sectors. Over 50% of all vacancies currently within the region are in the STEM area. The Pharma and Med-Tech sectors currently support over 100,000 jobs in Ireland with further employment growth rates forecasted.
Mary Jo Parker, Business Relationship Manager with Innopharma Education advises “their programmes are designed in consultation with Industry which ensures that the programmes are current and reflect industry needs. All of Innopharma programmes include coaching for Personal and Career Development whether that involves in the case of an unemployed person who requires assistance with CV preparation and interview skills. The feedback we consistently get from our course participants is that these elements of the course prove invaluable to job searching and securing the role”.
“While doing the course I applied for a few different jobs and I got an interview for Edwards Life Science which is a start up based in Shannon” and thanks to Interview Preparation I completed as part of the course says Catriona O’Hanlon having completed the programme earlier this year.
“One of the concepts that was emphasised during the course was the phrase “transferable skills”. I’ve been able to put this to good effect by combining my IT industry experience with relevant concepts from the Level 6 course in particular from the Quality Assurance and Quality Control modules studied. Since early 2020 I’ve been working as a Perkin Elmer contractor on site at Regeneron in Limerick says Kieran Edwards who completed the programme in 2019.
“Mary Jo Parker invites anyone interested to contact us on 061 639186 or email at Limerick@innopharmalabs.com and each person will contacted and spoken with on a one to one basis”.
For further information please contact Joe Leddin, Regional Skills Manager on 086 8160569
