Gateway to the future skill standards for the bioscience industry

The Bioscience Industry Skills Standards Project (BISSP) is developing national, voluntary skill standards for technical jobs in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and clinical laboratories in hospitals, universities, government, and independent settings. Research with employees and educators has pinpointed three issues underscoring the need for skill standards in the bioscience industry: new employees with four-year college degrees are not prepared for entry-level technical jobs; programs fail to prepare people for specific occupations because educators do not understand the skills occupations require; and college graduates dissatisfied in entry-level positions result in high turnover rates.