International Young Professional Committee 2018 Strategy Recap

It has been an incredibly busy year for the IYPC as we delivered the strategy that was presented to the International Board of Directors at last year’s Annual Meeting in San Diego (and published in the January-February 2018 issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering magazine). The committee’s strategy mirrored themes in the board’s 2016–2019 Strategic Plan. The table at right provides a snapshot of how we delivered on our commitments.

Iypc Collaboration

As part of a collaboration with the Global Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Leadership Forum (GPMLF) “Workforce of the Future” initiative, the IYPC Chair presented the “YP Perspective of Workforce of the Future” at the GPMLF meeting during the Europe Annual Conference in Rome, March 2018.

A live poll was conducted during the meeting to assess the GPMLF’s perspective on YPs in their organizations. These results were combined with the gaps identified by the Workforce of the Future team, then compared to the perspective of 37 YP leaders, whose feedback had been collated in advance on whether YPs:

• Rely fully on employer organizations to develop skills after graduation
• Pursue further part-time education while working
• Have defined technical development pathways within employer organizations

During the GPMLF meeting, the IYPC also discussed knowledge gaps that YPs face when entering the pharmaceutical industry. The top gap identified by the IYPC survey was GMP training. As a result, ISPE’s first YP GMP training has been added to the 2018 Annual Meeting program. This collaboration has also produced a new Workforce of the Future YP sub team. GPMLF has encouraged continued collaboration between the two groups; both the IYPC Chair and Co-Chair will present at the next GPMLF meeting in November 2018.

Board Of Directors

The IYPC Chair is an ex officio member of the ISPE International Board of Directors. This position was introduced in 2016 to bring appropriate diversity to the board and to help execute the business strategies defined in the ISPE Strategic Plan. At each meeting, the IYPC Chair gave an update of the group’s activities and discussed the delivery of their strategic goals with the board.

The IYPC Chair also interviewed six board members, asking their career advice for YPs and their thoughts on the value of ISPE engagement. Their answers were published in the May-June and July-August issues of Pharmaceutical Engineering.

Strengthening the IYP Committee

Continued YP growth requires a solid strategy, and for this reason the IYPC worked this year to define a guideline for the future of the committee. At a face-to-face workshop, IYPC members, ISPE staff, and former board members gathered during the ISPE Quality Manufacturing Conference in June to draft the document.

The “YP Guiding Principles” include steps to maintain diversity on the IYPC across our global regions, plan for future succession of leaders, mentor new members in their progress from local to regional to international YP involvement, and create broader transparency. This document was reviewed and endorsed by ISPE Staff and Governance Committee.

YP Employer Support

Many YPs want to join ISPE but may not have support from their employers to do so. This is particularly true in organizations that do not have a senior management presence in ISPE.

The IYPC worked with industry leaders on the board to define the value of ISPE to both individuals and employers. These responses were then incorporated in a brochure designed to a) help YPs seek support from their employers to be engaged with both ISPE and the wider industry and b) to promote the value of ISPE to employers and encourage management to allow their YP staff to volunteer in ISPE.

We hope this clear value proposition for both YPs and employers will help engage more organizations in ISPE and encourage members to join at an earlier career stage. Both the “YP Guiding Principles” and “Employer Value Brochure” are available on the YP Community page!