The panel will feature apprentice and early-career talent from organisations including Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, CSL Seqirus and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, who will share their first-hand experiences in stepping into life sciences manufacturing and how they add value to technical roles.
Skills gaps, workforce pipelines and future capability are not just business challenges. They are human ones. Behind every conversation about the future of life sciences manufacturing are people deciding whether this sector is for them, whether they can see a place for themselves in it and whether employers are willing to give them a proper route in.
This panel puts those people in the room.
Not as polished case studies. Not as a tick-box nod to early careers. As apprentices with something valuable to say about what it really takes to start, grow and contribute in a high-pressure technical environment.
The questions employers should be asking
Life sciences manufacturing needs careful, curious, accountable people. People who can follow processes, think critically, ask good questions, speak up when something does not look right and keep learning as technology, regulation and production demands change.
It is a high bar. It should be.
But those qualities do not arrive fully formed on day one. They are built through opportunity, structure, good management, trust and meaningful work. That is why Charlotte’s panel will focus on the reality of early careers, not the theory.
She will ask apprentices what made them say yes to this route, what felt like the biggest leap into the unknown and what helped them build confidence once they were inside the business. The discussion will explore when they first felt they were adding value, what kind of support helped without becoming micromanagement and what they wish more employers understood about young people starting out.
For employers, those answers are valuable. They show what helps early talent settle, grow and start contributing to the business. They can also challenge assumptions about what young people need, what they can handle and how quickly they can contribute.
Employers need support too
Tiro understands that taking on apprentices can feel daunting, especially when teams are time-poor, managers are stretched, and the work carries real consequences.
A good apprenticeship partner does not just support the apprentice. It supports the managers, mentors and teams around them. It helps employers recognise potential earlier, design the right support and turn raw capability into real performance.
Tiro has been helping fearless apprentices join ambitious science and technology employers since 2005. Across those years, one thing has become clear: the talent is there.
At Tiro, we see around 65 highly credible applicants for every apprenticeship vacancy. The appetite is there, the curiosity is there, and the potential is there. The question is whether employers are creating enough doors for people to walk through.
Charlotte Blant, CEO of Tiro, said: “The apprentice panel is such a valuable part of the conference because it puts early talent at the centre of the conversation.
“We talk a lot about skills gaps, workforce pipelines and future capability, but behind all of that are real people making decisions about where they belong and what they can become.
“These apprentices can tell employers what helped them, what challenged them, when they started to feel confident and what they wish more businesses understood. That insight is incredibly powerful.
“Early talent is not a risk to be managed. It has potential to be developed and value to be unlocked. With the right support, young people can bring energy, curiosity, fresh thinking and real value to organisations now, not someday.”
Come and find us
The Bionow Pharma Manufacturing Conference takes place on Thursday 21 May 2026 at the Hilton Liverpool City Centre.
Charlotte will chair the apprentice panel at 16:45 as part of the day’s programme, giving apprentices the space to share what it really takes to start and succeed in life sciences manufacturing.
For employers serious about building capability, this is the session to listen to.