Brushing up on cleaning skills

The UK’s process industry sector, which encompasses the manufacture of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and polymers, faces skills gaps and shortages that threaten to restrict future growth. Nowhere is this more evident than in the area of cleanroom technology, where the newly created National Skills Academy Process Industries has identified particular demand for cleanroom training facilities that meet the needs of the pharma and biotechnology industries.

The bio/pharma industry is the second largest consumer of cleanroom space. Unlike the electronics segment, which has grown sporadically, growth in bio/pharma remains steady and is forecast to continue.

Overall, the process industries employ 420,000 people directly, with a further 180,000 working in the immediate supply chain. The sector contributes £22bn gross value added (GVA) to the economy, which equates to more than 15% of total UK manufacturing GVA. It remains an essential raw material supplier for a broad range of the manufacturing industries and sits at the leading edge of technological innovation.

The focus of concern in the pharma industry is on contamination, wherein the biological activity of viable particles such as bacteria and viruses may cause the final product to have unintended side-effects. This can occur in areas including the production of tablets, capsules, packaged liquids and parenterals.

Many pharma products cannot be subjected to a final, ‘terminal’ sterilisation step because they are not heat stable. These products must be produced using an aseptic filling process, in which the separate components of the product are sterilised in appropriate ways and assembled under conditions as close to sterility as possible. Such cleanroom technology requires highly skilled workers, and the Skills Academy will be exploring novel methods of providing specialised training.

The National Skills Academy Process Industries was launched by the UK govern-ment in January 2008. Its aim is to ensure that employers within the process industries have sufficient skilled people to achieve the business objectives and continue to contribute significantly to regional and national economic growth. The Academy will be organised as a ‘hub and spokes’ model, centred in Middlesbrough and with regional spokes in the north east, north west, Yorkshire & Humber, south east, south west, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

As ceo of the National Skills Academy Process Industries, Craig Crowther is enthusiastic about its future impact. Several options are under consideration, including transporting mobile ‘cleanrooms’ across the country to hold regional training sessions. “This would be welcomed by employers as a cost-effective solution to their training demands,” he said. “The impact on the skills gaps and shortages in the process industry sector will be significant, supporting the full spectrum of skills development.