Pharmaceutical Grads In High Demand
By Jessica Whitby
 Have you ever been interested in working on the cutting-edge of drug and medical research? Do you want to have a challenging and highly-profitable profession in today’s competitive job market?
If you answered ‘yes’ and you’re a science graduate, a career in the ever-growing pharmaceutical industry may be what you’ve been looking for.
Where can you find the skills and required training to break into the industry? The Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology (TIPT) is North America’s premier pharmaceutical institute, licensed by the Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities of Ontario. TIPT is the pioneer of pharmaceutical skills development in Canada and over the last decade have graduated more than 3,000 pharmaceutical professionals and remained the leading source of qualified professionals for the major pharmaceutical companies in North America.
TIPT offers specifically designed programs to provide graduates with the necessary transferable skills to succeed. In a hands-on working corporate pharmaceutical environment, graduates leave with the skills and experience demanded by the most successful drug companies in the world.
Miriana Dagher, 25, a current student studying Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance & Quality Control, enrolled in TIPT because she couldn’t find work with her B.Sc.
“I decided to enroll in TIPT because I just graduated and I could not find a job. I had no experience for the jobs I wanted and decided that TIPT will give me the direction and the experience that I needed.”
Dagher says, “The best part of attending TIPT is that you get to actually practice what you are taught.” She says the school has prepared her to work in the pharmaceutical industry because, “It gave me the experience I needed not only in the lab but also with documentation and regulations.”
 If you decide to seek a career in this rapidly growing, recession-proof industry, you have a great chance for immediate employment if you’re properly trained. Since 1987, Canadian pharmaceutical and development (R&D) jobs have increased 269%.
At TIPT, you will experience a unique real life training in their Health Canada certified state-of-the-art Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) pilot plant and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) Research & Quality Control laboratories. TIPT’s approach to learning is one-of-a kind because of their integration of hands-on learning in an operational laboratory with scientific concepts learned in a classroom setting. This teaching technique is not common in colleges and universities and has proven most effective for gaining employable skills in the pharmaceutical industry. Class sizes are also small and team-oriented so you’ll receive a more personalized education.
Jamila Abdulkarim, 23, a current student, says TIPT focuses on teaching students the necessary skills to obtain a successful position in the pharmaceutical industry.
“The classes emphasize intercommunication between students and teachers. This allows students to approach classmates and teachers when clarification on a topic is required.”
Abdulkarim credits her teachers for guiding her in the right direction with the required theoretical knowledge and practical experience.
“The teachers at TIPT have a multidisciplinary approach to teaching as they come from different experiences and hold a wide range of credentials in the pharmaceutical and medical industries,” she says.
TIPT offers post-graduate programs in pharmaceutical research & development, pharmaceutical quality assurance & quality control, and pharmaceutical manufacturing technology. A certificate program in pharmaceutical High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is also taught. Post-graduate programs last 39 to 52 weeks in duration, while a certificate in HPLC takes eight weeks.
As a TIPT graduate, you’ll be prepared to work in a variety of positions since you’ll have acquired the necessary skill needed to overcome challenges in the industry. Some professions that you’ll be readily employed include formulation technologist, research technician, stability chemist, compounding technician, production technician, quality assurance technician, process development technician and validation technician. Experienced faculty members and dedicated career services personnel at TIPT have contacts in the pharmaceutical industry and are willing to help you find employment.
Corina Knapp, 25, a recent graduate from the pharmaceutical research and development program, is currently working in the field as a formulation technologist. She decided to enroll in TIPT because she wanted to receive hands-on training in the field.
“I realized by talking to people in the industry that what was most important to get a foot in the door was hands-on experience, and TIPT could provide that for me,” Knapp says.
Knapp feels there are a lot of great reasons to attend TIPT and she is happy with her decision.
“The best part about attending was the exposure to working in a pilot plant and analytical laboratory. The classes were also small which was nice. (For me) the most interesting classes were the manufacturing, pharmacology and pharmacokinetics classes”.
She says her career in the pharmaceutical industry has just begun, and credits TIPT for “providing me with the critical and basic skill needed to perform my job functions.”
If you are interested in a career in the pharmaceutical industry, TIPT is currently participating in a UC411 Scholarship contest where qualified students can win up to $2,000 towards their tuition just by entering the draw. For more information, just visit TIPT’s school profile. |
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