Service provider Modis is expanding its expertise to address scarcity in bottleneck sectors.
The Belgian life sciences, pharmaceutical and technology sectors are urgently looking for around 18,200 new specialized employees. That is shown by a survey among the sector federations essenscia and Agoria, carried out by Modis, which specializes as an expert in these sectors. It mainly concerns jobs that require a specific, highly-skilled diploma and cross-subject insight. Modis, part of the Adecco Group, is expanding its expertise to respond to the digital disruption the corporate world is facing. As a result, the boundaries between its core sectors IT, Engineering and Life Sciences are blurring.
CMAST and XPE Pharma & Science (focused on life sciences and pharmacy), euro engineering (focused on the engineering sector) and Modis IT (focused on IT), all part of the Adecco Group, recently joined forces as Modis. That means that Modis will operate in three bottleneck sectors: Life Sciences, IT & Engineering. By joining forces, Modis is responding to the rapidly changing industry, which is challenged by a growing demand for specialized personnel in the life sciences, pharmaceutical and technology sectors - among other things caused by digital disruption.
The sector federations state that Belgian companies that focus on technology, life sciences and pharmaceuticals are growing at a rapid pace. So fast that the supply of experts cannot keep up with the demand. Most of the open positions can be found within the technology sector. According to technology federation Agoria, tech companies are looking for around 16,000 experts who can offer solutions for all kinds of projects: from developing machines to creating software applications. In addition, the Belgian federation for life sciences and chemistry, essenscia, estimates that, just like last year, some 2,200 jobs still need to be filled in the fields of chemistry and biological sciences. According to the sector federation, the cause can be found in strong investments, technological innovations and an aging population (almost one in three employees in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors is over 50 years old).
Modis notes that the bottleneck sectors are mainly looking for researchers, developers, specialized project managers and IT experts. That is why mainly graduates with a high level of education in Life Sciences, IT or Engineering are eligible to fill the total of 18,200 vacancies. However, these talents are scarce in Belgium, as the 2019 Global Talent Competitiveness Index shows. Belgium ranks only 40th in terms of available scientists and engineers.