The Bioscience sector provides employment for a wide range of qualifications from entry level to PhD.

PEI Bioscience companies focus on:

• Human health & nutrition & natural products
• Fish health and contract research around nutrition and vaccines
• Animal health & nutrition
• Human/animal health diagnostics
• Contract manufacturing services
• Medical devices

The PEI Bioscience Cluster includes over 60 bioscience companies, several research institutions, and is home to Emergence – Atlantic Canada’s Bioscience Business Incubator, Natural Products Canada and the Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences. Sector employees now number just over 2,200.

“All the companies are featured on the PEI BioAlliance website,” says Vivian Beer, Manager, HR Strategy for the PEI BioAlliance. 

Key initiatives in the PEI bioscience cluster:

The Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences (CASTL)
An initiative of the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance, CASTL is a unique partnership between academia, industry, and government to address the future skills needs of Canada’s fast-growing bioscience sector. CASTL offers multiple applied learning streams and pathways for individuals to acquire the hands-on technical training, theoretical knowledge, and professional skills to have a successful career in life sciences.

The Bioscience Manufacturing Incubator (BMI)
The BMI is a 20,000 sq. ft. facility located in Charlottetown, PEI, comprised of six fully serviced, self-contained units to support pilot-scale manufacturing of bio-based products. The BMI is essential to allow companies moving from the R&D stage to commercial manufacturing to do so on PEI.

The BioAccelerator
The BioAccelerator will be a unique multi-function facility with 75,000 sq. ft. of biomanufacturing space that will provide facilities and services to researchers, entrepreneurs, and bioscience-based companies operating along the full continuum from research and product development, process development, manufacturing scale-up, and biomanufacturing skills and training. The BioAccelerator will become a centrepiece for biomanufacturing and fermentation-based business development in Atlantic Canada and a national asset.

Hiring needs within the Bioscience companies on PEI

The PEI BioAlliance is a private sector-led not-for-profit organization dedicated to building the bioscience industry on PEI. About 350 jobs are advertised through the PEI BioAlliance each year.

“The PEI BioAlliance attracts talent to bioscience companies on PEI by promoting their job postings,” says Vivian. “My role is to help match talent to opportunities in the bioscience sector. I can have a one-to-one conversation with a job seeker to review their resumé, and we can discuss where there could be some good matches. Job seekers can ask questions about any of the companies and the roles available.

Opportunities in this sector include the following:

• Scientists, Researchers,
• Quality Assurance,
• Quality Control and
• Regulatory positions.

About 50 percent of the jobs advertised are for Production and Engineering roles ranging from Process Engineers to Packaging Technicians and many other manufacturing positions.

“There are also a number of business administration positions in areas like Finance, Accounting, Sales and Marketing, and Human Resources. And there are some student positions including co-ops and summer placements.

“When you look at a job description, keep in mind that it describes the ideal employee. In most cases, the successful candidates do not have all the qualifications listed. If you have at least half of the qualifications, I encourage you to apply.”

5 ways to help you find a job in the growing bioscience sector:

1. Send in your resumé

The PEI BioAlliance keeps an online resumé library which is shared with hiring managers in the PEI bioscience cluster. If you are currently seeking employment upon graduation or for the summer months, send your resumé to  vivian@peibioalliance.com.

The resumé should be in PDF format with the file name “Resume – Your Name – Education/Credentials” and the email subject line “Add my resume to the 2022 PEI Bioscience Cluster Library.”

2. Check out the job board

Updated as positions become available, the PEI BioAlliance website has a job postings page which consolidates all open positions across the cluster, including direct links to apply. The website also provides links to learn more about the companies that are hiring

3. Sign up for email alerts

If you prefer to receive real-time alerts directly in your inbox, sign up for our email notifications, where you’ll receive ongoing updates on the latest opportunities in bioscience. Sign up today by filling out our form.

4. Follow us on LinkedIn for our weekly job round-up

At the end of every week on the PEI BioAlliance LinkedIn page, we post a summary of all the new jobs made available the week prior. Follow us on LinkedIn for these updates and for all the latest local news in the sector.

5. Stay up to date on the latest news and company expansions

LinkedIn is a valuable resource and a great way to stay informed about the latest job openings. “I encourage job seekers to build an extensive LinkedIn profile, because companies refer to these profiles when seeking talent. You can also use LinkedIn to connect with hiring managers working for PEI companies.