Mummy, Where Do Formulators Come From?
A casual glance at the job advertisements in this industry will reveal plenty of companies in our industries who seem to need trained formulators. The job title may sometimes be formulation scientist, formulation chemist or formulation engineer – but the job description is broadly the same. Even in these tough economic times it seems that formulation is a sought after profession. This is because formulating companies know that formulation technology adds huge value to their product offer. But what kind of profession is it – how do you qualify as a formulator and how do you become a practising one? If you are recruiting formulators, where do you find them and what kind of professional standards should you expect?
The companies we work with at Intelligent Formulation are keen to build a clearer career path and set of professional standards for formulation and we’ve been doing a lot of work to help them. We’ve canvassed companies on their needs for continuous professional development (for existing staff) for the recruitment of new graduate scientists in the area of formulation. Here is a summary of some of the important findings:
- There are very few undergraduate or Masters level courses which cover in detail the kind of technical or non-technical skills needed for formulation to enable a new starter to really hit the ground running. Companies recruit graduates with some relevant technical knowledge (e.g. in chemistry or pharmacy) and try to “convert” them to formulators once they are in the job
- When designing full-time courses, universities may not fully grasp what formulation is and what industry needs. Additionally there is need to provide more information at the crucial “decision age” (around 16) where students start to choose their university options.
- There is no easy “quick start” to formulation science and technology that companies can use with graduate recruits or at technician level.
- Although potentially relevant high-level technical courses are plentiful, there is no framework, recognised professional framework, accreditation, curriculum or career pathway for formulators and employers to use when developing skills and capabilities within their organisation and personnel. Too much professional development is ad hoc and unstructured.
- A successful formulator requires more than pure technical knowledge to add value. He or she needs to be adept at problem solving and critical thinking techniques as well as to use knowledge networks and external resources and to have entrepreneurial and team-working skills.
So what are we doing about it? Here is a quick summary of our initial activities in the area of formulation skills, training and qualification:
- A quick start in Formulation – last week Intelligent Formulation, in collaboration with ParticlesCIC, launched a major new 3-day course “Fundamentals of Formulation Science and Technology”. This will be held at the University of Leeds from 28th-30th May 2012. For more details see http://www.intelligentformulation.org/events/articles/fundamentals_of_formulation_training_course.
- Designing a full-time BSc in Formulation – we’ve gathered feedback from the companies in our Industry Steering Group on what capabilities they would like to see in new graduates. We’re encouraging universities to take up the challenge of designing a course to meet the needs of industry, and the University of Bradford is the first to start work on this.
- A professional development framework for Formulation. Behind the scenes we’ve started to build a consortium (to include professional bodies, training providers, employers and strategic skills bodies) which will bid for public funding to establish a professional framework and curriculum for formulation. We’ll be able to say more about this in the New Year.
So there’s plenty going on in the area of formulation skills and education. If you want to know more, or have your own ideas or thoughts to contribute, please do get in touch by e-mail to jim.bullock@intelligentformulation.org.
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Adhesion Science for Practical Formulators: One day training course - 12th July - http://t.co/GifpjrQW
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RT @nanoktn FP7 Funding call - Multiscale modelling for nanomaterial design http://t.co/dfcpOcCd
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Microbes Good and Bad in Personal Care, 19th June 2012 - http://t.co/5oWqPJuu
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Good to see @GrahamClayton (formerly of @IF_Tweets ) at refurbed Kings X station 2day. Pleased to see he still has his taste for #Latte
