Industry Research: Life Sciences
Lightcast Insights and Analyses Shed Light on a Vital, Growing Sector
Lightcast Research into Life Sciences
The Life Sciences sector incorporates the application of biology and technology to health improvement, including biopharmaceuticals (Biopharma); medical technology (MedTech); and research, testing, and medical labs. It is not only a crucial industry for the well-being of people and society, but also a significant contributor to national economies and employment. With the sector growing at an unprecedented rate, understanding its labour market needs is critical for developing a strategic approach to ensuring the industry is future-ready.
In early 2025, Lightcast published two highly detailed research reports that attempted to illuminate current and future employment and skills demand for the sector across different geographies. The first report, commissioned by Milan-based HR Services company, GI Group, examined the sector across Europe, while the second, produced for the UK-based consortium, The Futures Group, looked at the sector in the UK. We've set our some of the highlights from these two key reports below, and you can download the full reports by clicking on the buttons.
A Vital Sector
According to our report for GI Group, the Life Sciences sector across Europe (including the UK) has grown in value by more than €100 billion from 2015 (€480bn) to 2024 (€590bn), far outpacing the broader economy. Most of this growth occurred since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, albeit with a slight correction in the last couple of years. Despite this slight slowdown, it is clear that Life Sciences is a hugely vital sector to European economies, and therefore one which needs a data-driven strategy to ensuring its future growth needs are met.
A Growing Sector
As we’ve seen, the sector has recently seen high growth, but how is this set to play out over the next few years? The chart to the left shows our projections for the UK, based on statistics from the Office for Life Sciences Bioscience and Health Technology Sector. Even in our continuation scenario, we are projecting that the Life Sciences sector in the UK alone will create around 70,000 new jobs by 2035, along with the need to replace around 75,000 workers who will leave their roles due to retirement, career changes, or other factors during that time.
The Age-Old Challenge
As the chart to the right shows, our research found that one-third of workers in the sector across Europe are in the over-50s age group. The situation in the UK is even starker than this, with over 43% of its Life Science workers being over 50, followed by Germany (34.2%) and The Netherlands (34.1%). Life Sciences companies will therefore not only need to plan to ensure there are enough workers to replace those leaving the sector, but also to make use of the deep expertise these older workers have while they are still in employment, particularly through things like mentorship and upskilling of the younger workforce.
The Skills Challenge
The Life Sciences sector is constantly adopting new technologies and practices, necessitating the need for a workforce that can adapt to keep up with demand for certain skills. In our UK report, for instance, we found increased demand for common skills; law, regulation and compliance skills; information technology skills; and science, research and healthcare skills. In our European report, as the image to the left shows, we found that demand for a number of specialised skills such as pandemic readiness and endodontics has grown massively. The sector therefore needs to be aware of such growing and emerging trends, to ensure both current and future workers possess these vital, future-ready skills.
European Hotspots
Demand for Life Sciences talent is concentrated in markets like Germany, (493,023 job postings), and Switzerland (76,713), with Ireland (56,741) also a key hub, being home to five of the top ten cities for life sciences talent. In terms of cities, Denmark’s Copenhagen and Aarhus have become prominent hotspots in recent years, with 8.1% and 3.8% growth respectively in these cities from 2022-2024. In Italy, Genoa’s increasing demand for talent reflects its robust Life Sciences ecosystem and thriving port, while Palermo benefits from urban regeneration and the growth of its tech and service industries.
UK Hotspots
The South East, London, and East of England are major drivers of activities in the UK, accounting for 49% of all employment in the Life Sciences sector. Another significant hub is the North West, which accounts for 10% of Life Sciences employment in the UK. To varying degrees, every region of the UK experienced growth in Life Sciences employment over the five years between 2016/17 and 2021/22. By far the majority of BioPharma employment (57%) is concentrated around the so-called Golden Triangle – Oxford, Cambridge, and London – the largest Life Sciences research cluster in the UK.
