Upskilling the UK to take full advantage of the potential of cell and gene therapies

Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult is a global leader in skills in a rapidly growing sector. Through a range of initiatives such as the world’s first apprenticeship programme for cell and gene therapies and a national training network it now supports a sector employing almost 7,000 people from across the UK, with the workforce predicted to grow to over 15,000 by 2026.

The Catapult coordinated the founding of Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres (ATTCs) in 2018. Its purpose was to form partnerships between academia, regulators, hospitals, supply chain experts and therapy manufacturers, to accelerate products out of the laboratory to the bedside, increasing the opportunity for companies to grow and expand.

Today the network comprises more than 800 people from 49 companies, 13 research institutions, seven Government agencies and 25 NHS trusts/boards. It is supporting 92 ATMP clinical trials within the UK, 5% of the global total.

The training tools it has developed are widely employed, including a e-learning platform with 73 modules and an on-line ‘NHS readiness tool’, which has been accessed over 17,500 times.

Overall the ATTC is globally recognised for its excellence in developing processes and infrastructure required to increase patient access to life-changing advanced therapies.

To support the skills and training required for ATMP manufacture, the Catapult has established the world’s first apprenticeship programme with the Advanced Therapies Apprenticeship Community (ATAC) and the Advanced Therapy Skills Training network (ATSTN) with dedicated ATMP and bioprocessing training facilities on online training tools.

A recent sector survey reveals employment to be well beyond those initial estimates with 6,956 employees in 2021, forecast to more than double to 15,114 by 2026