BMS Employment To Top 200 in 2008
The new rheumatoid arthritis drug that Bristol-Myers Squibb plans to produce in Devens isn't expected to get FDA approval for another three years, but the company will still have about 230 people working there by the end of 2008.
Speaking recently at a Leominster panel discussion on "new economy" jobs in North Central Massachusetts, Richard Elmer, a training and development manager for the company, said Bristol-Myers already employs nearly 100 workers at the site, even though construction of the physical plant is ongoing.
By the time sales of the drug are slated for approval, in 2011, he said, the biotechnology plant will employ nearly 400 workers, including 137 manufacturing employees who will keep production running 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
Advance Measures
Elmer said the company needs to get its process running well before the drug goes on the market because it has to run extensive tests on the product.
Elmer said the company will face a challenge in recruiting and retaining people with the right skills for jobs at the plant. He said Bristol-Myers needs workers with an understanding of biology and computer science, as well as problem-solving skills and flexibility. The company plans to cross-train employees in different areas to create a flexible work force, he said.
"The days of an operator turning valves and writing things on paper ... that's not going to happen at Bristol-Myers Squibb," Elmer said.
Bristol-Myers is working with Mount Wachusett Community College and other local colleges and high schools to prepare employees to work in the biotech field.
The panel was part of the What's Next? series sponsored by the MWCC Center for Democracy and Humanity in partnership with the Trustees of Reservations, the Twin Cities Latino Coalition and the North Central Massachusetts Economic Development Corp.
Other participants in the panel included Lorie Martiska, vice president of community relations and development at Heywood Hospital; Richard Mohnk, vice president and chief information officer at HealthAlliance Hospitals Inc.; and Ed Terceiro, executive vice president and resident engineer at MWCC.
The speakers said all three industries share a need for employees of many different education levels, particularly workers who have some post-secondary technical education, but not necessarily a four-year degree.
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