Student and year-round employment opportunities at BIOVECTRA

by Heidi Riley

BIOVECTRA is a global biotech and pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization. It specializes in clinical-to-commercial scale production capabilities for biologics, small molecules, bioreagents, lipids, pDNA, mRNA and LNP manufacturing.

The company has four facilities in Charlottetown and two in Nova Scotia, with more than 650 employees in those two provinces.

Earlier this year, the company completed a biomanufacturing centre in Charlottetown specializing in mRNA, pDNA, lipid nanoparticles and sterile fill/finish work, from clinical to final sterile fill/finish drug product.

The company was recently purchased by Agilent Technologies Inc., which specializes in analytical and clinical laboratory technologies.

Hiring needs

“Primarily we are a manufacturing company of drug products,” says Trevor Morash, Human Resources Generalist. “Our many departments include manufacturing, human resources, quality assurance, quality control, maintenance, engineering, accounting, finance, and other supporting departments.

“Job seekers assume that a background in chemistry or science is required to work at BIOVECTRA, but 70 percent of our roles are in manufacturing, and the minimum requirement is high school.

“Because of the extensive training required for almost every role, we don’t tend to hire part-time roles, but we do hire permanent full-time positions.”

Student employment

“We have a pretty robust student on-the-job training program,” says Trevor. “We usually hire students for summer roles. The first year tends to be about training, and then in subsequent years they can work more independently. We hope to re-hire those people from one summer to the next, and then hire them full-time after graduation.”

Student summer positions are posted in March, and the positions run from April to the end of August. New graduates are also encouraged to apply for the student roles.

Student summer positions

Training offered

“It is very rare to find an applicant who has experience and the specific skill sets in manufacturing pharmaceuticals, so we offer a seven to nine-month training period for all roles across the company.

“We also have succession training where we train someone who is interested in a role, from sending them to conferences to supporting a Masters program.”

Benefits and working conditions

The benefits package starts on the day employment starts, and includes:

• Health & dental
• A bonus equal to 10 to 15 percent of your salary, depending on the role.
• The plant runs 24/7, so the majority of the entry-level positions are rotating day/night shifts. Shift premiums are offered for night shifts.
• Wellness plan: $250 per year for any health-promoting item such as sneakers, gym membership, or cricket bats.
• Vacation time starts at two weeks for new hires.
• Sick time is accumulated one-half day per month up to 84 sick days.
• A room on site used to connect with a doctor online.
• Retirement package
• Immigration assistance program: “We are a designated employer for the Atlantic Immigration program. About 15 percent of my time is spent helping people immigrate and earn permanent residency in Canada.”