MSD’s Stephen Burke discusses the future skills expectations of pharma professionals and how candidates can stand out to recruiters in this space.
Stephen Burke began his career in science after graduating from Dublin City University with a degree in genetics and cell biology. After a couple of years working as a researcher, Burke made a career pivot to become a recruiter focused on the science and engineering sectors.
After spending more than 10 years working in recruitment at a variety of companies, Burke joined MSD in 2022 as a senior talent partner in global talent acquisition.
Since joining MSD, he has been responsible for recruitment at a number of MSD sites throughout Ireland, eventually becoming the interim leader of the MSD Ireland recruitment team. In his current role, he also has additional responsibility for executive recruitment in the EMEA region.
Here, Burke discusses the major future skills trends of the life sciences and pharma industries.
What role do you see tech playing in the changing pharma sector in terms of recruitment and future skills?
Advances in IT, automation, data analytics and AI are coming more quickly than ever, and these advances are being adopted at record speeds too. Harnessing skills in the optimization and automation of technical processes, error reduction, time waste reduction and ultimately time waste removal can create a huge amount of value for patients who benefit from our vaccines and medicines on a daily basis. We anticipate that there will be a continued high level of demand in these areas for highly specialized jobs in these fields.
However, beyond these highly specialized jobs, professionals across all areas of STEM and beyond could gain major advantages from gaining complementary skills in these areas. No matter your background, this could be a strong differentiating factor with a powerful effect on boosting your own career. I believe this comes back to the increasingly trans-disciplinary nature of work, particularly within STEM and pharma, where automation and AI can open up new opportunities for innovation, growth and efficiencies beyond what would have been possible up until recent years.
In your opinion, what soft skills are becoming increasingly important for professionals in the life sciences and pharma industries?
Work has become increasingly global, we see this first-hand at MSD where we have a highly diverse, engaged workforce at all levels of our operations – which is a great strength to have as a network. Skills such as effective communication and emotional intelligence can be extremely valuable when it comes to connecting effectively and building long-term, trust-based relationships with people from different cultures, backgrounds and functions. This can really help in driving growth by enabling and furthering knowledge-sharing, innovation and creativity across the board. That means these, perhaps traditionally overlooked, soft skills can add real tangible value to a business’ global operations and can therefore open up significant opportunities for individuals at all levels of their careers.
How do you foresee the role of AI and data analytics evolving in the pharma sector, and what kind of expertise will be needed to harness their full potential?
It’s fascinating to see how different elements of AI and data analytics can help unlock potential across all stages of the pharma value chain – from drug discovery to clinical trials, manufacturing, supply chain, marketing and customer service, all in the service of creating more efficient, safer and more people-focused outputs at all levels of operations to allow us to deliver better and faster for people and patients all over the world.
I think across all industries we are only just learning and discovering the full potential of these tools. It is brilliant to see a growing field of subject matter experts who have built their careers on understanding how AI and data analytics can support different stages of the pharmaceutical process, and this kind of expertise will be increasingly needed. But we will also need professionals of all levels and backgrounds to boast a good understanding of these tools and their potential impact.
In coming years, we will probably all have to become experts in understanding how these tools can enhance our individual roles in a way that’s safe, ethical and adds real value to our work. Newer generations might find it easier to integrate these new technologies, more experienced professionals will have to challenge ourselves to be curious and creative and learn on the go. It’s an exciting prospect in any case, both for professionals and for our industry as whole.
What advice would you give to young professionals or students aspiring to enter the pharma industry to ensure they are well-equipped for future opportunities?
I would encourage anyone starting out in the industry to be open, flexible and accountable in their approach to work. My advice is to take every opportunity to get involved with initiatives in work which go beyond their own core responsibilities, and whenever they can try to get hands-on experience in cross-functional projects to gain exposure to other areas and really understand how different teams work together to contribute to complex business objectives. At MSD Ireland for example, we encourage people to take short-term ‘gigs’ across our Irish and global operations to apply their skills in different functions and with different teams, so that they can develop a well-rounded knowledge of the sector.
Talent who demonstrate this kind of curiosity and initiative to continuously learn and develop always stand out in recruitment processes, as that can be a huge advantage in demonstrating real passion and commitment.
It is also important to participate in community initiatives at work. Any job can be intense at times, but there can be real, tangible, long-term value in connecting with colleagues, both to give back to ourselves and unwind, as well as to give back to the wider community as part of a team.
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