Victorian churchyards, business models, predicting trends in pharma and crying wolf. That’s the theme of my July recap. Let’s see what I’ve been up to – apart from the obvious: taking pictures of British churchyards.
In July, I’ve continued working on one of the reports on my desk (July is a holiday month in Sweden, but not in the rest of Europe). I mentioned in my June recap that I had invited the other sectors to collaborate. That work is still ongoing, with others now taking the lead. We’re exploring how Europe’s chemical industry is changing – and what that might mean for future skill needs. My responsibility is pharma.
The project (ChemSkills) is a tricky one – too big to just repeat old buzzwords, too small to support proper research. But we do what we can to move the discussion away from the classic “x number of people with degree y.” Since I’ve been involved in science and engineering talent topics off and on since the 1990s, I’ve seen the same dramatic headlines over and over: “We urgently need thousands of new engineers – or the system will collapse!” But the matching job ads? They never quite seem to appear.
That’s why I smiled when I recently came across a report from Högskolan in Halmstad. It flat-out questioned the alarmist tone of many skills gap reports. The basis for these claims just isn’t solid enough. Matching employers and employees has always been about more than degrees. But the need for interdisciplinary skills, self-leadership, and constant adaptation is more important than ever.
Predicting the future is tricky. Even the most solid business models can turn out wrong. Like Arnos Vale. When it opened in 1839, the cemetery was a commercial success – privately owned, architect-designed, briefly monopolistic. But burial rights were limited to 125 years. Cremation became mainstream. Revenues dried up. The company couldn’t adapt. It collapsed. Today, a foundation and volunteers keep the site alive with themed tours, a café – even weddings. (I wouldn’t choose it as a wedding venue, but it was fabulous to explore.)
As you may see from my photos, it’s a lush, semi-wild Victorian cemetery where headstones peek through the ivy like archaeological finds. I went there while visiting a former manager from my time working in the UK. During our weekend we also visited a Concorde – speaking of things that didn’t quite take off as planned. In between, we had a pint (or two) and discussed why some projects fail, and how the world is changing.
I know I’ll probably get some things wrong in the reports I’m writing now. But I still want to get it as right as I can.
If you’re thinking about where pharma is heading – I’d be happy to hear from you.
PS! If you want to look at more pictures from Arnos Vale I have written about the place in my travel blogg (in Swedish).
This monthly recap is written and published on LinkedIn.
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