How Canadian employers in life sciences can get ahead of staffing challenges as biomanufacturing explodes.
Key Takeaways
- Canada’s biomanufacturing boom is creating thousands of new, specialized jobs, but the talent pipeline is lagging.
- Workforce planning and recruitment strategy are now competitive differentiators, not administrative tasks.
- Employers that partner early with experienced life-sciences recruiters will shorten hiring cycles and secure the best talent.
- Talent from adjacent industries (aerospace, automotive, clean-tech) can help bridge gaps—if recruitment messaging highlights transferability.
- Recruitment firms can help Canadian employers scale biomanufacturing operations without compromising on compliance or quality.
Reading time: 7 minutes
As Canada ramps up its domestic biomanufacturing capacity, employers across the pharma and life-sciences ecosystem face a new reality: infrastructure growth is only half the challenge. The other half is finding, hiring, and retaining the skilled workforce needed to keep production, quality, and innovation on track.
Why Canada’s Biomanufacturing Moment Matters
The federal Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy sets out a five-pillar plan to rebuild domestic production capability, reduce supply-chain risks, and strengthen research-to-commercialization pipelines.
With $2.5 billion+ in federal investments across more than 40 projects, new hubs are emerging across Montréal, Toronto, and Charlottetown.
But infrastructure alone won’t secure Canada’s position. The Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences (CASTL) estimates the industry will need 16,000 new workers by 2029, spanning GMP operations, automation, and quality.
Workforce Implications for Employers
- High-demand roles: GMP-certified operators, process engineers, validation experts, and QA/QC professionals.
- Regulatory constraints: The need for trained, compliance-ready hires limits “on-the-job learning” and increases onboarding time.
- Cross-sector competition: Advanced manufacturing, aerospace, and clean-tech companies are pursuing similar skill sets.
- Talent bottlenecks: Without dedicated recruitment pipelines, employers risk production delays and compliance exposure.
Industry Insight: What’s at Stake
“Canada has invested heavily in facilities, innovation, and infrastructure—but people are what will determine whether these investments pay off,” says Scott Murphy, President, Operational Staffing and Life Sciences at Agilus Work Solutions.
“The next phase of growth isn’t about adding more labs or production lines; it’s about building sustainable teams with the right mix of technical precision and regulatory discipline. Employers that start workforce planning now will be the ones positioned to meet both market demand and compliance expectations three years from now.”
Scott’s perspective underscores a critical truth: biomanufacturing capacity can’t scale without parallel growth in specialized workforce capability.
What Employers Should Do Now
- Audit your current workforce: Assess your five-year hiring plan and identify gaps in GMP, automation, and quality roles.
- Define competency frameworks: Standardize technical and behavioural competencies to support internal mobility and faster training.
- Partner with experienced recruitment firms: Engage recruiters who specialize in life sciences to access pre-qualified, regulatory-ready candidates, benchmark compensation, and reduce time-to-hire.
- Expand your talent lens: Attract adjacent industry talent with transferable skills (e.g., robotics, mechatronics, clean manufacturing).
- Invest in retention: Create structured career paths, mentorship programs, and internal certifications to keep top performers engaged.
How Agilus Can Help
As Canada’s largest privately-owned recruitment firm, Agilus Work Solutions partners with biomanufacturers to:
- Build scalable hiring pipelines for both contract and permanent roles.
- Benchmark compensation across technical, regulatory, and manufacturing positions.
- Develop workforce strategies that align with national biomanufacturing objectives.
- Strengthen resilience by ensuring your people strategy grows with your production strategy.
Agilus Work Solutions can help you find the specialized talent you need to compete globally, here in Canada. Our recruiters work and live in the communities they service. For nearly 50 years, Agilus connects workers and employers in the engineering, technology, life sciences, professional, industrial federal government & public sectors. Follow us on LinkedIn to learn more about our workforce solutions or contact us today.
We are Experts in specialized talent. Built for how you work.
FAQs for Employers
Q1: Why are GMP-qualified workers so hard to find in Canada?
Because biomanufacturing is re-emerging domestically after decades of outsourcing. The training ecosystem is still catching up, making experienced talent scarce and highly mobile.
Q2: Can we hire from other industries like automotive or food manufacturing?
Yes. Many technical and process control skills transfer well—especially automation, robotics, and quality systems. The key is supplementing with GMP-specific onboarding.
Q3: How can smaller biotech firms compete for talent against global pharma brands?
Differentiate on purpose and agility by highlighting innovation, local impact, and faster growth paths. Many candidates are drawn to mission-driven work over corporate scale.
Q4: How can Agilus support our next phase of hiring?
Agilus designs customized recruitment programs specifically for life-sciences employers by integrating real-time market intelligence, deep candidate networks, and proven Canadian expertise to help you hire quickly, compliantly, and with confidence.
With a national talent community of nearly one million candidates and an ISO-certified recruitment process, Agilus delivers the highest quality assurance and compliance standards in the industry; all while tailoring every search to meet your organization’s unique workforce goals.
Biomanufacturing Talent FAQs
Q1: Why are GMP-qualified workers so hard to find in Canada?
Because biomanufacturing is re-emerging domestically after decades of outsourcing. The training ecosystem is still catching up, making experienced talent scarce and highly mobile.
Q2: Can we hire from other industries like automotive or food manufacturing?
Yes. Many technical and process control skills transfer well—especially automation, robotics, and quality systems. The key is supplementing with GMP-specific onboarding.
Q3: How can smaller biotech firms compete for talent against global pharma brands?
Differentiate on purpose and agility—highlight innovation, local impact, and faster growth paths. Many candidates are drawn to mission-driven work over corporate scale.
Q4: How can Agilus support our next phase of hiring?
Agilus designs customized recruitment programs specifically for life-sciences employers—integrating real-time market intelligence, deep candidate networks, and proven Canadian expertise to help you hire quickly, compliantly, and with confidence. With a national talent community of nearly one million candidates and an ISO-certified recruitment process, Agilus delivers the highest quality assurance and compliance standards in the industry—while tailoring every search to meet your organization’s unique workforce goals.