UB Web Site Promotes Careers in Life Sciences

By Joyce Kryszak

Buffalo, NY – UB rolled out a new program Tuesday that will give career seekers a better idea of what jobs are available locally in the life sciences industry. It's an industry some say is not growing as fast as it could be.

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There are several components to the program called iSciWNY. It starts with a web site that educates people about the growing biotech industry in western new york. Students and displaced workers looking for a new career get basic information about the kinds of jobs that are out there and what it takes to land one. Schools also will be taught how to peak interest in biotech careers. New York State Senator William Stachowski said he was happy to help secure partial funding for a program that promotes the growing biotech industry. He pointed to research supported in this year's state budget.

There are about 120 life sciences companies in western new york. Many are growing and hiring. But not all as fast as they could be. Norma Nowak is a scientist who started her own company at UB's Center for Bioinformatics. She employs about ten people. She said having a better prepared workforce to draw from would help ther company grow faster. But Nowak said it still takes funding to spur the growth that creates the jobs. And she said too much of the state funding for life sciences goes downstate.

The UB program also offers job readiness training to help prepare job seekers for the life sciences jobs that are available in western new york right now. More information is available at iSciWNY.