MedCity - Great News, But How Will It Be Staffed?
A few weeks ago, Boris Johnson launched MedCity. However, there has not yet been an announcement on how it will be implemented and staffed.
Online, April 29, 2014 (Newswire.com) - A few weeks ago, Boris Johnson announced the launch of a new partnership of the UK's top scientists, life science companies, and investors across London, Cambridge and Oxford, named MedCity.
MedCity aims to spur the detection of treatments to fight a number of diseases, including diabetes, cancer and dementia.
The partnership was set up by Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre, the Mayor and King's Health Partners, and UCL partners, with Oxford and Cambridge universities, and will be supported by a panel of experts.
Boris Johnson commented that the collaboration will "form a 'golden triangle' of scientific innovation" allowing the UK to "channel that intellectual pre-eminence into a positive impact on our economy."
The initial £4 million investment will be financed by the Higher Education Funding Council and City Hall, allowing for the promotion of MedCity as a prominent hub for the life sciences sector globally, allowing MedCity to compete with the science hubs of Boston, Singapore and Shanghai.
Over the last ten years, employment levels have grown by 21% within the UK life sciences sector, with over 700,000 people employed in the South East. Boris Johnson noted that MedCity is projected to generate thousands of new jobs, and to eventually "rival the financial services sector" in the UK economy.
The Clinical Professionals Group, Europe's leading independent pharmaceutical recruitment company, welcomes the announcement as fantastic news for the life sciences sector, as the industry strives to discover new treatments to combat multiple diseases.
However, there has not yet been any announcement surrounding how MedCity will be implemented and staffed. With the large increase in new jobs predicted, the success of the partnership will depend heavily on how recruitment for the new life science jobs are managed, including the level of training and support that is provided to the new employees once they have been hired.
Managing Director of The Clinical Professionals Group, Yvette Cleland, commented: "This is an outstanding initiative, however, unless the MedCity Board collaborates closely with the UK Life Sciences staffing industry, universities and training institutes these newly created positions will not be filled due to a vast lack in skilled labour and this exceptional opportunity for the UK Life Sciences industry will fail at the first hurdle."