MPO: upskilling to overcome talent scarcity in the age of digitization.

Competition is fierce for digital talent, especially in the medtech sector. Companies must compete with tech giants, pharma enterprises and mainstream brands to hire product engineers, AI specialists and digital marketers. As innovation accelerates in “nearly every diagnostic and therapeutic area,” keeping up with transformative trends is critical to immediate and long-term growth.

Yet, the solution to talent scarcity is not simply talent acquisition — that’s not sustainable. Companies are reconsidering their human capital strategies, and 67% of human capital and C-suite leaders in the life sciences sector believe reskilling and upskilling employees is an effective way to address talent scarcity. Forty percent (40%) are spending more to do this, according to Randstad Sourceright’s 2022 Talent Trends research. 

Upskilling enables companies to stem the skills gap while empowering employees to choose their career trajectories. In addition to creating an agile workforce for a dynamic marketplace, an effective learning and development program leads to higher engagement, satisfaction and even pay.

Notably, a McKinsey study showed that 44% of digital talent came from non-technical roles, and “these professionals grew their salaries more than twice as fast as those who had a technical background.” 

The good news is that talent is eager to learn and grow. Randstad's 2022 Workmonitor report of more than 17,000 workers found that 88% would make use of learning and development initiatives if provided to them.

Learn more about upskilling your workforce to stay ahead of digital transformation in  Medical Product Outsourcing (MPO), and then download Randstad Sourceright’s life sciences Talent Trends sector report here.