The current landscape for workforce development is heavily influenced by substantial industrial growth and technological disruption. Talent acquisition and human resource development (HRD) leaders are facing a global trifecta of talent management challenges: labor supply shortages, rapid obsolescence of skills and credentials, and a desperate need for mission-aligned, culturally competent “people strategies” for recruitment and retention.
This is significant because people are central to productivity and capacity; that is, the broader ability of organizations across every discipline to carry out the creation of goods and fulfillment of services while expanding on tribal knowledge critical to operational efficiency and agility.
AI-Induced Truncation of the Skill and Competency Life Cycle
Artificial Intelligence is not solely a workflow tool; it is an autonomous disruptor that has significantly condensed skill and competency life cycles. Skills that were previously stable for decades or more are becoming outdated more quickly.
Research from the World Economic Forum, IBM Institute of Business Value and Harvard Business Review shows that general professional skills have a 5-year half-life, whereas more technical skills have a 2.5-year half-life. For HRD leaders across industry and academic partnerships, the challenge in education and training is not just adopting AI but also fostering the robust knowledge, skills and mindset required for talent to remain effective as technological shifts move towards automated, data-driven environments.
AI-influenced workplaces require a proactive approach to upskilling and reskilling both high- and low-skilled talent to prevent further workforce depletion and to fill existing and future labor shortfalls.
To circumvent the impending worldwide workforce crisis of 2030, decision-makers must move beyond traditional credentials and embrace skills-based ecosystems that embrace emerging technology and untapped human potential.
Even for North Carolina’s life science industry, where over 860 companies employ more than 76,000 people and an additional 9,900 new job announcements have been made since 2022, sustained expansion will depend on inclusive access and cultivation of diverse competencies to better align skills with the sector’s evolving needs.
The good news is that the state has been credited with a multi-decade head start, as evidenced by many strategic frameworks developed through partnerships such as the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), NCBioImpact, and the NC Biotechnology Center (NCBiotech).
Such longstanding collaborations offer HR leaders a range of scalable models for strengthening their technical talent pipelines.
BioWork: A Blueprint for Scalable Responsiveness to Industry Workforce Demands
NCCCS’s BioNetwork leads BioWork, a non-degree certificate program offered through 15 community colleges that provides 136–152 hours of high-impact education and training in the foundational skills necessary to qualify for an entry-level position as a process technician.
Process technicians are fundamental to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and chemical manufacturing companies, as they operate, monitor and control production processes. Individuals without a prior science background are transformed into skilled workforce talent through a core curriculum of theory and hands-on laboratory experiences, bookended by targeted career development strategies.
The program’s resounding success is backed by compelling data that supports:
- Enrollment increased by 60% between 2020 and 2025, and there are ongoing discussions to expand the program to additional colleges across the state.
- Reproducible Results. Student completion rates have consistently improved over time, increasing from 66% in 2020 to 77% in 2024.
- Industry Alignment. 100% of community college biotechnology leadership affirms that BioWork’s 10 core modules remain conducive to entry-level success.
- Graduate Employability. Program participants see an average life science employment rate of 55%. Program interest and enrollment are poised to support further industry growth in the state.
Program outreach extends to diverse demographics of prospective talent, especially among BIPOC, military veterans and individuals on the spectrum of disability. BioWork engages participants who include: high school juniors and seniors through early college pathways, incumbents of existing biotechnology-based associate degree programs, working professionals and graduates of university programs.
‘MOVE Boots to Biotech’: A Reliable Framework for Catching, Coaching and Connecting with Military Veterans
The fourth largest active-duty and reservist military population in the country resides in North Carolina. Every year, more than 18,000 highly skilled veterans with technical specializations enter the commercial workforce. NCBiotech’s MOVE, or the Military Outreach and Veterans Engagement program, is a Department of War SkillBridge-approved workforce development model.
MOVE represents another pivotal aspect of a multilayered workforce development strategy aimed at building a robust talent pool that includes military veterans and their spouses. These individuals are uniquely suited to high-risk manufacturing environments in the life sciences sector.
Partnering community colleges serve as the primary hub for coaching and guiding veterans through BioWork as they navigate their transition from military service to civilian career pathways in the life sciences. For example, Fayetteville Technical Community College’s BioWork lab in Harnett County is closest to the Fort Bragg military installation; it is outfitted with the supplies and equipment necessary to support an intensive training and education regimen.
Other community colleges near North Carolina military installations include Central Carolina Community College, Durham Technical Community College and Wake Technical Community College. Nonetheless, all BioWork colleges can work with MOVE. Proximity plays an important role in the process of engaging, educating and equipping via hands-on learning experiences, and expanding the professional network relationships of program participants.
The Mandate for Human Capital Management: Lead with a Human-Centered Approach
A sustainable response for reconciling the workforce crisis is not purely technological but rather human-centered. Strategic workforce planning requires recognizing talent as a scarce, high-value asset. As such, the onus is upon stakeholders across industry, academia and economic development to bridge education and experiential gaps through targeted, specialized programming.
By aligning natural inclinations (i.e., meticulous attention to detail, cross-disciplinary cognition) and service-honed skills with purpose-driven career pathways and intentionally building technologically advanced competencies into continued education, HRD organizational leaders can create a robust, mobile workforce capable of withstanding the complexities of time and economic evolution.
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