Although no one is daring yet to speak unequivocally about a turnaround in the labor market, more signs are emerging of at least a halt in the wave of layoffs. For example, a survey by Manpower Israel subsidiary Manpower Information Technology (MIT) showed that in January 2002, demand for high-tech employees was 9.4% greater than in December 2001. This rising demand has interrupted the continuous decline in demand since October 2000, at least for the moment.
At the same time, there is also a regular source of employee recruitment - biotechnology companies. In this field, the demand for employees outstripped the supply long ago. There is a burgeoning demand for programmers, software engineers, medical sales representatives, chemists, biochemists, and other professionals. Recent surveys in the biotechnology industry and its offshoots show that salaries have not fallen, in contrast with the wages of high-tech and other employees.
Bioinformatics company Compugen (Nasdaq: CGEN) combines calculating technologies with biology and medicine by developing innovative solutions for inventing new drugs. Compugen recently set up a laboratory in the Ashkelon area to develop complex molecules on which drug manufacturing can be based, and recruited chemists for the purpose. VP human resources Yael Bourla says, however, that now, as always, Compugen is looking for excellent interdisciplinary personnel in fields like molecular biology, mathematics, computer science, physics, and chemistry.
Start-up Enzymotec has developed unique technology that utilizes the effect of enzymes to create biological processes in the food and drug industry. According to director of business development Revital Sivan, Enzymotec has been searching for new staff for quite some time. “We’ll recruit 15 employees in the coming year,” she says. “We are recruiting mostly researchers and engineers, but also marketing personnel and patent editors.” Most of its recruiting is done through help wanted ads and participation in public events, such as the BioTech 2002 Conference, which was held on March 19-21 under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. “We didn’t have an employee recruitment booth there, but we didn’t reject any opportunities that came our way.”
Mindset BioPharmaceuticals and Novamed are also about to recruit staff. Mindset, which develops drugs for Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases of the nervous system, is seeking over 10 employees for R&D and quality assurance. “We also use the services of manpower agencies, advertise through our web site, and take part in industry-wide events,” says VP human resources Avril Golan. Dr. Emil Katz, president and CEO of Novamed, which develops and manufactures diagnostic systems, is also using manpower agencies to find a senior project manager.
According to Danny Farber, general manager of Conexpo, which organized the BioTech 2002 Conference, the biotechnology industry is aiming its products mostly at a market that may be less fashionable, but is also more stable. “With the aging of the population and the increasing rate of illness, there is a rising demand in the global market for this industry’s products,” he notes. “Furthermore, Ministry of Industry and Trade figures show that the per capita number of Israeli companies is five or more times that in countries like the US and Britain.”
A survey by research company Business Data Israel shows an 18% increase in the number of Israel biotechnology companies in 2000, compared with 1999. Israel is in third place worldwide in the number of biotechnology start-ups. At a recent biotechnology conference, Prof. Hagit Messer-Yaron, chief scientist of the Ministry of Science, Culture, and Sport, stated that the Israeli government regards this field as one of the most promising industries in the Israeli economy for the future.
Hever Information Technology Recruitment (IRT) central region manager Yifat Bar-On, which recruits biotechnology and high-tech personnel, agrees that biotechnology is “a market with a consistent demand for manpower. There is kernel of biotechnology companies that are constantly recruiting. Even if the numbers are small, the demand is stable. Companies employing 100 staff recruit two or three more per month. This contrasts with high-tech companies, which may do more recruiting, but have a much higher turnover in their workforce.” Bar On stresses that the market is stable and knows exactly what it wants. “The standard demand is for people with at least an MA, and of course those with practical experience are preferred.” Bar On stresses that when she sends a candidate to a job for a biotechnology company, she knows a permanent job really exist, not just a temporary one-year position.
Nisha Hitech head of biotech recruitment Lizi Shuv, also says recruiting is consistent, with a slight rise in the demand for medical equipment personnel. In contrast, recruitment in the pharmaceutical field is more substantial, mostly in field representatives and sales. She states that the demand for employees is 20-30% higher than six months ago. “There is a clear preference for experience and advanced degrees,” she agrees, adding, “The salaries in the industry are still low.” She comments, however, “It won’t stay that way in the long run, because the professions most in demand in the industry are organic and medicinal chemists, for whom I spend a year or more searching. The demand for these professions has risen by leaps and bounds in the past year.”
Published by Israel's Business Arena on March 26, 2002