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Kickstart a career in life sciences with CASTL

September 9, 2020

On Wednesday, September 2, panelists from the Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences (CASTL) presented an online webinar introducing CASTL, a partnership between academia, industry, and government to address the future skills needs of the Canadian life sciences sector.   

CASTL is a first-of-its-kind partnership that combines academic theory with hands-on skills development to prepare learners to be work-ready, and kickstart careers in the bioscience sector. 

Hosted by the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) as part of their CIC Talks webinar series, the panel featured CASTL partners, including representatives from industry and academia: 

  • Christopher Gillis, Executive Director, CASTL 
  • Sue LeFort, Manager, Workplace Integrated Learning, CASTL 
  • Oliver Technow, CEO, BioVectra 
  • Dr. Suzie Currie, Dean, Faculty of Pure and Applied Science, Acadia University 

Panelists discussed how CASTL will help deliver on the economic and sectoral demand for individuals who are work-ready to enter and meet the needs of the bioscience industry, which is a key pillar of the local and national economy.   

“There is a huge demand in the sector and from industry for individuals who are highly engaged, see a purpose in this sector and are creative problem solvers,” said Oliver Technow, CEO, BioVectra. “Career advancement also requires leadership skills, including aligning and bringing people together, and we believe CASTL will pair these complementary professional skills with academic knowledge.”  

Additionally, the presentation offered an overview of CASTL’s applied learning streams which demonstrated how CASTL participants will acquire the academic knowledge, and technical and professional skills to have a successful career in life sciences.  

“CASTL is a very unique program that aims to bridge academic education with industry expectations, to produce graduates who are well-prepared to grow careers in the sector along with those already in the sector or wanting to be,” said Christopher Gillis, Executive Director, CASTL. “No matter who you are, CASTL offers you a place to kickstart or grow a career in life sciences, through specialized training.” 

CASTL’s founding partners include: 

Watch the full panel webinar from CIC. 

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