Learning doesn't stop when you leave the lecture hall. In today's competitive labour market having additional biotech certifications can give you a boost to the top of the applicant list. There are many additional technical courses and certifications that you can take to help bridge the gap between your university education and your first position. If you're reading this as a seasoned professional this article will still be relevant to you as certifications can help you move into different departments within your field. In this article we will go over which key certifications can help you get a leg up on the competition, whether it's about GMP certification, a regulatory affairs course, bioinformatics bootcamp or QC training we'll go over it all and help you on your way to growing your skillset.
Before setting sail it's important to know which direction you intend to go. You want your certification or course to be strategic, you don't want to waste your time learning a new skill that won't be relevant for your career development and that you'll never use. The courses below will have varying costs, commitment levels, and recognition by industry. So it is important to pick something that is realistic to finish and that you will gain useful knowledge from. These courses often signal to employers that you have practical knowledge so picking something that you will actually complete is much better than picking something that sounds cool and then never actually getting the credentials.
Here are some of the top certifications that employers look for in pharma and biotech.
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certification
Pharmaceutical manufacturing is huge in Canada. If you've ever taken a peek at our pharma company directory there is an overwhelming amount of contract manufacturing organizations and large companies like Apotex. All of these companies need professionals that have an understanding of GMP. Having a certification stating that you have functional knowledge in this area is massive. If you are involved in manufacturing, quality assurance, process development or many other operations roles this information is critical to the success of both your career and the company you work for.
GMP certification courses in Canada covers information on the effective and safe manufacturing, packaging, reporting and documentation processes related to pharmaceuticals. This is an expansive set of material that has critical implications on whether or not a pharma company in Canada can manufacture it's products or not. Having tightly regulated protocols for areas like contamination control, labelling and record-keeping keeps the end users of pharmaceuticals safe and guarantees the effectiveness of the drug they are taking. If you want to have a real direct and tangible impact on the lives of thousands of people working in manufacturing and making sure your company stays compliant with GMP is for you. You can read more about the importance of GMP compliance here.
If a GMP certification for Canada is what you would like to pursue here are a few options:
- Canadian College of Food and Health
- University of Toronto Continuing Education
- Academy of Applied Pharmaceuticals
If you have a course that you would like to include in this list please feel free to contact us to get listed.
Regulatory Affairs Certification
Canadian pharma companies have to deal with an environment of complex laws and regulation that are subject to changes and modifications over time. Pharma companies hire many professionals to deal with this and it can be a well paying career for you. Regulatory affairs courses will give you a practical overview of how to go about dealing with Health Canada for the submission of drugs for approval and maintaining compliance within the daily operations of the pharma company you work at. This is very detail oriented work that can make or break the massive efforts that the R&D department does to develop drugs to bring to market. A regulatory affairs certificate would helpful for individuals who want to get some practical experience under their belt to get positions as regulatory affairs associates, quality assurance associates or anyone moving towards more compliance facing roles within in pharma, biotech or medical devices.
Regulatory affairs certifications often cover elements of Good Manufacturing Practices, pharmaceutical regulatory submissions, how to write product summaries, manufacturing controls and best practices as well communication and teamwork best practices involved in submitting these complex applications.
If a regulatory affairs certification in Canada is what you would like to check out here are a few options:
- Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences
- UBC Micro-Certificates
- Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology
If you have a course that you would like to include in this list please feel free to contact us to get listed.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control Training
Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) roles are a great place to start out your biotech or pharma career. There are many entry level roles in this area of the industry. Having a certification relevant to this field can help you get more interviews when applying for these roles. This is because pharma employers in Canada appreciate entry-level candidates who have a bit of extra practical knowledge outside of their degree. Having this certification can be very helpful if you are someone looking to start out in a Quality Assurance Associate, Manufacturing Technician or Quality Control Technician role.
QA and QC certification programs usually go over the following topics: some aspects of Good Manufacturing Practices, pharmaceutical laboratory testing, WHIMS training, pharmaceutical manufacturing practices and other laboratory techniques often required of QA analysts. This is a great course if you like to work in the lab and want to have an impact by keeping downstream patients safe.
If a quality assurance certification is of interest to you here are a few courses you can pick from that are relevant in Canada:
- Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences
- NSF Pharmaceutical Quality Systems Training
- Seneca Part-Time Studies
If you have a course that you would like to include in this list please feel free to contact us to get listed.
Bioinformatics Courses and Certifications
Bioinformatics is key for processing and making use of mass amounts of biological data. Having a working knowledge and skill base in bioinformatics is incredibly valuable in our data driven world. This is an in demand skill in our current biotech job market so having bioinformatics experience can open doors into a lot of different companies. If you are looking to expand your horizons in R&D or further down the drug development pipeline this is a skill that is going to be more and more relevant as we increase the volume and data quality to inform lab decisions.
Bioinformatics courses and certifications usually go over these topics: refreshers on molecular biology and genomics, Python, R, machine learning, data analysis and training on specific bioinformatic pipelines or platforms.
If a bioinformatics course is something that would interest you we've included a couple of options here. This is a much more involved topic so the courses tend to be longer.
- Graduate Certificate in Clinical Bioinformatics - Durham College
- Graduate Diploma in Biomedical Informatics - Queen's University
- Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics - University of Lethbridge
If you have a course that you would like to include in this list please feel free to contact us to get listed.
How Certifications Make You Standout to Employers
Gaining practical experience in specific areas of the biotech ecosystem signals to employers that you are someone who takes initiative and is ready to take on work when you're hired. This effect shows up in multiple stages of the hiring process. For example having specific certifications helps you get through ATS screening more effectively (you can read more about that here). It also sharpens your technical and practical knowledge for interviews making you more prepared to answer questions, in addition to being able to gauge the responsibilities of your new role better. Extra certifications can even help you get a bump in salary for any new positions or while you're in your current job. In general certifications are a gateway to make career transitions easier.
I hope you found this article informative. Figuring out how to build out your biotech skillset can be daunting as there are so many ways you can go in this industry. Hopefully we made that task a bit easier for you. If you're ready to take the next step in your biotech or pharma career you can explore our latest open positions here. New roles are added daily from top companies across the country.