Workforce MVP: Bringing Talent to the Medical Manufacturing Industry
When I was leaving the Marines aſter spending 27 years in uniform I wasn’t exactly sure what came next. My time in the military had prepared me for many things, ranging from how to stand at attention to how to conduct a patrol in insurgent territory. What it didn’t really prepare me for, however, was what to do when for the last time I hung up the cloth of the nation and started over again as a civilian. As I thought about the possibilities that I could pursue my
mind wandered all over, but one place that it did not linger was in the medical device industry. Not because it is unattract- ive, but because my perception was that the people in it were all highly educated engineers and scientists who wore white coats and worked in laboratories all day. Since I don’t have an advanced degree in one of the STEM fields I figured that there was no place in such an environment for me. I was not alone in my perceptions, either. Of all the transitioning veterans that I knew, not a single one looked at the medical technology or medical device industries as a place where they could work.
Not a single vet I knew looked at the medical industries as a place where they could work.
It turns out that we were wrong—very wrong. As I learned aſter I transitioned, the MedTech and MedDev
industries are indeed places where engineers and scientists wear white coats and work in labs—but they are industries that transform the results of laboratory work into physical products; products that are manufactured, assembled, stored, distributed, managed, and administrated in much the same way as any industry that makes stuff or provides services. Sure, there are lots of folks in the lab, but there are even more folks on the plant floor and in the human resources department and the storage warehouse and in every other part of the business that make a company run. Tose jobs—the myriad positions that make any manufac-
turing or services company operate—don’t necessarily require an advanced STEM degree. In fact, many of those jobs don’t require a college education. What they do require, however, are dedicated people who have a strong work ethic, can be part of a team, lead others, make effective decisions, and have
88 Medical Manufacturing 2014
the capacity to be flexible and learn how to be effective in new and different environments. Tose are requirements that every successful veteran can meet. Whether a man or woman served in uniform for three
years or thirty, they have a set of skills that make them a compelling addition to any company; all they need is training to prepare them for a career in the industry and an opportu- nity to network with professionals who are already working in medical technology and manufacturing companies. Tat is where the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program
(MVP) comes in. Started several years ago by Army veteran and Abiomed CEO Mike Minogue and championed by the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) and Zero Boundaries Global CEO Victoria Tucker (ZBGlobal is the creator of the Life Collaborative eLearning system and was spearheading a similar program in San Diego), the program sought to bring transitioning military and veterans into the MedTech industry. Mike and a great many other veterans in the industry recognized that many of their professional successes were directly attributed to the lessons they learned in uniform, and that their business and the industry would greatly benefit by bringing in veterans like themselves. Since its inception in 2010, MVP has grown to a pool of
over 150 veterans and 80 mentors (veterans already in indus- try and other interested subject matter experts) working in the industry through a program of active mentorship, job seeking training, and industry specific education. In 2013 the program’s founders recognized that MVP had the potential to grow from helping hundreds of veterans recareer into the life sciences to thousands. As a result, the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program has now become an independent nonprofit entity charged with bringing 5000 veterans into the life sci- ences industry by 2018 and 1000 veterans per year aſter that— all funded by participating companies in the industry (such as Abiomed, Boston Scientific, Covidien, Edwards Lifesciences, Haemonetics, and many others) and at no cost to veterans. It is a bold goal, but certainly not unachievable. Every year
more than 200,000 people leave the armed forces, and they are all looking for a new career. Tey are the highly-productive and dedicated employees that bring value to any business. To learn more go to
www.mvpvets.org. If you are interested in participating as a supporting company or as a mentor, please contact me at
mgrice@mvpvets.org.
Mike Grice President MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program Carlsbad, CA
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