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access to pooled European funding. This all called into question whether the UK could still play a role on the global stage of life sciences, or whether the UK sector would become more introspective, with smaller companies focussed on UK research and development to innovate products, rather than playing a global role. The impact on jobs was unclear. Government investment and its ambition for the UK to be a ‘scientific superpower’ will hopefully do much to safeguard the UK’s importance in this space and the jobs within it. The UK has a unique blend of industry, academia and the NHS, with all the data that that brings, which helps to keep the interest of global companies. The Science Industry Partnership has identified that the UK needs to create another 133,000 jobs in life sciences by 2030, in addition to the existing 260,000, many in newer skill areas such as digital, complex manufacturing and advanced therapies. The recently-published Government Life Sciences Vision document recognises that this presents a large training requirement to develop these skills that are not currently available at these scales in the UK, as well as committing to the free flow of international life sciences talent through the Global Talent Visa. Brexit has clearly caused challenges for larger life sciences organisations that relied on more seamless cross-border collaboration than Brexit has allowed, and has undoubtedly impacted global investment decisions by larger corporates, affecting potential UK investment. The prevalence of UK academia and scientists in the development of the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine and use of dexamethasone has helped to maintain its place on the world stage though and present the sector with an opportunity of job creation for the future. In conclusion, Brexit will have caused lasting structural change in the UK jobs market, with the aforementioned caveat about distinguishing between the impacts of the pandemic and Brexit. In many areas, job losses have not been as severe as were originally forecast, and the outcome has often been that multinational firms have chosen the UK ‘as well as’, rather than ‘instead of’, other countries as their home, and in many cases they may have decided that their more outward-looking, international parts of the business could be best served from outside the UK. Brexit uncertainty led to a more subdued jobs market in the lead up to the agreement. However, as we move through the pandemic, and the implications of the Brexit deal are navigated and beginning to be better understood, opportunities are presenting themselves. If UK plc gets it right, there are many opportunities for the UK to lead the way in emerging sectors, creating plenty of new, sustainable jobs. It will though, require considerable investment, from school-level education to reskilling and training large sections of the current workforce, to ensure that we can capitalise on them.

Netherlands-based Coyote Logistics, highlighted some of the problems UK firms were facing. Bruining explained that one of the main problems so far following the UK-EU trade deal, has been inconsistent requirements between EU countries on the mainland, which has added another layer of complexity for UK exporters. “It must be extremely frustrating for British exporters to deal with,” said Bruining, who went on to highlight that individual countries do have nuances in terms of requirements even within EU structures. While there are likely to be more stories of gaps on shelves, problems exporting or issues with production as organisations learn to navigate the new rules, solutions will emerge and technology needs to play its part. Opportunities are also starting to present themselves, which can be good news for jobs. According to recent Accenture research, the UK currently only makes 62 percent of goods when measured by value: less than any other comparable European nation. The pandemic and Brexit are set to change this as businesses are increasingly looking at bringing manufacturing back onshore; a move that could be worth up to £4.8 billion in additional goods for UK factories in the year ahead – around the same amount as the UK’s total current manufacturing output. UK manufacturers and their associated supply chains are also positioning themselves well to take advantage of the ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ – looking to lead the way in carbon capture, renewables and energy efficient products. Brexit has created short term challenges for organisations and their supply chains, and these ongoing difficulties continue to place a premium on the skills of white collar supply chain professionals and an unprecedented demand for lorry drivers. As these challenges are addressed, demand for the best candidates who can pivot to support industry developments will continue to remain high, and the impact of Brexit on the sector may actually have been to raise the profile and importance of supply chain roles within organisations. Life Sciences The profile of the life sciences sector has never been so high, as we continue to battle our way through the global pandemic. The UK life sciences sector has played a leading role on the global stage in vaccine and treatment development, and plays a key part in the Government’s vision to ‘build back better’. Brexit, however, has thrown up a number of challenges. The life sciences sector is a global one from a research, collaboration and talent perspective. From the moment the European Medicines Agency relocated from London to Amsterdam in March 2019, it was uncertain which organisations would follow, and what the future would hold for jobs and growth in the UK. Previous access to pan- European clinical trials all held under the same regulations that were key to be able to drive research and development at real scale were no longer certain, and nor was UK companies’

Concordia Winter 2021

Brexit

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