Indian pharma industry will have to face the brunt of untrained pharmacists in the coming years as the graduates and post graduates of pharmacy are unable to apply the concepts they learnt at colleges to a constantly changing and complex industry environment that requires high levels of innovation and hard work, said Uma Nandan Misra, dean, Pharmacy Training Institute (PTI), Bengaluru.
The pharmacy graduates are getting their degrees but are not being skilled enough for the industry to hire. Even if they are selected for the job, there is need for extensive hand-holding before the candidates are able to take up core responsibilities in research, manufacture and marketing among others. This is the stark reality that Indian pharma will encounter going by the lack of quality education, corruption by money-thirsty managements as such colleges encourage rote-learning which stalls basic inquisitive thinking skills. This together with a massive shortfall of faculty is plaguing pharmacy education, Misra added.
India accounts for 1,700 pharmacy colleges with at least 20,000 graduates passing out annually. It is the spurt in pharmacy institutions that has led to the decline of quality of education. During the late 60s and early 70s, there were less than 20 pharmacy colleges which produced high calibre pharmacists. This was primarily attributed to adequate industry exposure. During the 3rd and 4th year of B Pharm degree course, students used to visit 15 to 20 pharma companies and industrial tours were mandatory and students had to submit training reports.
But as the number of pharmacy colleges mushroomed in the country during the last some years, the concept of institute-industry interactions fizzled out. Efforts to re-introduce the concept were made with the creation of ‘Industry Institution Interaction Cells’. Seminars and workshops were organised by industry experts. The cells provided placement assistance to promising fresh pharmacy graduates. However, at some point of time, these cells also lost focus and became mere placement centres, Misra told Pharmabiz.
Stating that India currently needs ‘Quality Pharmacists By Design’ (QPBD), the PTI chief noted that a serious gap prevailed among the fresh and qualified pharmacists about the industry practises. There was even a poor understanding about the specific divisions in a company and product range. Currently, only 50 of the 1,700 pharmacy colleges have the required infrastructure and the ‘will to skill’ students.
Refraining to disclose the names of these pharmacy colleges reputed for high standards of education that mould an industry ready candidate, Misra said the pace of growth of the sector in India and abroad needs intensive skilling, relevant updation of syllabus and exposure to latest technology trends adopted by industry.
This is where PTI undertook the mission to skill not just students but industry professionals too. The institute is accredited by the Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council of India to impart training for 6 major job roles: manufacturing, QA/QC, maintenance assistants and medical sales representatives. So far, it has trained over 1,000 fresh graduates and provided placements in leading companies in India and abroad, he noted.
In order to offset the crisis of unemployable pharmacy candidates, it is pertinent for the industry and institutes to collaborate and bridge the gap for access to high quality knowledge across domains, Misra said
Via Internet
Pharambiz
The pharmacy graduates are getting their degrees but are not being skilled enough for the industry to hire. Even if they are selected for the job, there is need for extensive hand-holding before the candidates are able to take up core responsibilities in research, manufacture and marketing among others. This is the stark reality that Indian pharma will encounter going by the lack of quality education, corruption by money-thirsty managements as such colleges encourage rote-learning which stalls basic inquisitive thinking skills. This together with a massive shortfall of faculty is plaguing pharmacy education, Misra added.
India accounts for 1,700 pharmacy colleges with at least 20,000 graduates passing out annually. It is the spurt in pharmacy institutions that has led to the decline of quality of education. During the late 60s and early 70s, there were less than 20 pharmacy colleges which produced high calibre pharmacists. This was primarily attributed to adequate industry exposure. During the 3rd and 4th year of B Pharm degree course, students used to visit 15 to 20 pharma companies and industrial tours were mandatory and students had to submit training reports.
But as the number of pharmacy colleges mushroomed in the country during the last some years, the concept of institute-industry interactions fizzled out. Efforts to re-introduce the concept were made with the creation of ‘Industry Institution Interaction Cells’. Seminars and workshops were organised by industry experts. The cells provided placement assistance to promising fresh pharmacy graduates. However, at some point of time, these cells also lost focus and became mere placement centres, Misra told Pharmabiz.
Stating that India currently needs ‘Quality Pharmacists By Design’ (QPBD), the PTI chief noted that a serious gap prevailed among the fresh and qualified pharmacists about the industry practises. There was even a poor understanding about the specific divisions in a company and product range. Currently, only 50 of the 1,700 pharmacy colleges have the required infrastructure and the ‘will to skill’ students.
Refraining to disclose the names of these pharmacy colleges reputed for high standards of education that mould an industry ready candidate, Misra said the pace of growth of the sector in India and abroad needs intensive skilling, relevant updation of syllabus and exposure to latest technology trends adopted by industry.
This is where PTI undertook the mission to skill not just students but industry professionals too. The institute is accredited by the Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council of India to impart training for 6 major job roles: manufacturing, QA/QC, maintenance assistants and medical sales representatives. So far, it has trained over 1,000 fresh graduates and provided placements in leading companies in India and abroad, he noted.
In order to offset the crisis of unemployable pharmacy candidates, it is pertinent for the industry and institutes to collaborate and bridge the gap for access to high quality knowledge across domains, Misra said
Via Internet
Pharambiz
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