Bioscience firms need help
Bioscience firms need help
Qualified employees hard to find in area
February 15, 2010
The fledgling bioscience industry in Southwest Florida - and the rest of the state - is faced with a chicken-or-the-egg dilemma.
The young businesses need qualified workers to grow but, because they aren't yet a core industry, there is no ready work force from which to hire.
"Relatively speaking, the bioscience industry in Florida is still very young," said Russell Allen, president and chief executive officer of BioFlorida, a 200-member industry association. "It's no one's fault. It is really just a question of the massive growth the state has tackled and where resources have gone."
Last week, the Southwest Florida chapter of BioFlorida held a conference for bioscience companies and students in Estero. About 150 people attended, about half of them students.
Recent Ave Maria University graduate Phillip Buckley said he thinks Southwest Florida may be on the verge of becoming a bioscience center.
"It definitely seems headed in that direction with all that has been happening," he said.
Buckley, 21, earned a bachelor's degree in biology, but now plans to attend dental school in his native Missouri.
Southwest Florida has thriving science and health programs at Florida Gulf Coast University, Edison State College, Hodges University and others.
But most are undergraduate programs for students seeking a bachelor's degree or certification in a particular career field.
The programs have been created and expanded to serve the region's growing demand for health care workers.
At Hodges, for example, the small private university has partnered with other schools - such as Nova Southeastern - to expand its programs in health administration, nursing and health information technology.
"We've been able to react quickly to the demand," said Carlene Harrison, dean of the school of Allied Health.
But doctorate-level science and post-doctorate research programs are lacking locally and are in short supply in the state, said Bob Gasparini, president and chief science officer of NeoGenomics Inc., a cancer genetics testing laboratory based near Gateway.
"A bachelor's degree can just get you an entry-level position as a laboratory assistant and, even then, we look for laboratory experience," Gasparini said.
Comer teaches a chemistry class. Biofuel companies in Southwest Florida have a hard time finding qualified employees locally.
Hiring has been a key challenge for Fort Myers-based NeoGenomics Inc. since the company was founded in 2001, Gasparini said.
"Without a large educational infrastructure, it becomes very difficult to fill the pipeline," he said. "We never stop recruiting."
The challenge played a key role in the company's decision to open additional labs in Nashville, Tenn., and Irvine, Calif., where there are concentrations of qualified employees.
"We want to see Southwest Florida become one of those bioscience areas so we don't have to open laboratories elsewhere to attract qualified employees," Gasparini said.
Last year, NeoGenomics was awarded up to $615,000 in state and county incentives to add 75 jobs by 2011 at the Fort Myers headquarters.
"We could do that in a year if there were available workers," Gasparini said.
Paul Woods, the chief executive officer of Algenol Biofuels, said he is braced for the challenge of relocating his company's laboratory from Baltimore to Lee County, but is already looking ahead.
He said he has already met with the leaders at FGCU to talk about programs that would help bioscience companies grow.
"It's a challenge in the short term, but in the long term, a directed curriculum would really help," Woods said.
Algenol and Lee County agreed to a $10 million incentive plan early this month to bring the laboratory here and expand the headquarters locally.
Algenol is a developing company with a method to produce low-cost ethanol, butanol and other chemicals from algae, sunlight, carbon dioxide and seawater. The substances can be used to produce fuel or plastics, or for other uses.
Russell Allen, from the BioFlorida industry group, said his group is in the final stages of creating the BioFlorida Institute, which will focus on educational programs and developing a clearinghouse to match companies and candidates.
"The industry cannot grow here without good talent," Allen said.
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