National Apprenticeship Week: Cameron's Story
11th February 2025
Cameron Thompson is pursuing a Level 6 Scientist Degree Apprenticeship (Bioscience) whilst working at eXmoor Pharma, a Bristol-based full service Cell & Gene Therapy contract development and manufacturing organisation.
I hope that, by the time I finish my apprenticeship, I can make a decision on the direction of my career with confidence.
Cameron Thompson, Level 6 Scientist Degree Apprenticeship, eXmoor Pharma
eXmoor Pharma is a full service Cell & Gene Therapy contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) backed by 20 years consultancy experience supporting over 150 organisations accelerate novel therapies from discovery to patients. The company provides expert solutions at all stages of the development journey from early process development and scale-up through to GMP manufacture, fill and finish and QP release.
Cameron’s apprenticeship has allowed him to gain invaluable experience of this specialist service area within the medicines supply chain whilst continuing to study. He says,
“I am building a strong overview of the application of techniques and technologies within bioprocessing. This experience is helping me to narrow down my career options by allowing me to work in different teams and specialties. I hope that, by the time I finish my apprenticeship, I can make a decision on the direction of my career with confidence.”
A Wide Range of Benefits
Management are just as enthusiastic. According to Mike Kilcooley, Viral Vector Team Lead & Apprentice Manager at eXmoor Pharma,
“The apprenticeship programme at eXmoor has presented a wide range of benefits since we implemented it, for both our own staff and for the apprentices themselves. It has, for example, provided the opportunity for our junior staff to develop their mentorship and managerial skills when taking on supervisor positions, ensuring the apprentices are guided through each placement with care and consideration for their development.”
eXmoor has also put in place many new training tools for the apprentices which have subsequently been used with new and existing staff too, helping drive the company’s continuous improvement process. And that’s not all.
“Having placements across many areas of the business provides a holistic development pathway for our apprentices, allowing them to be well-rounded and flexible in how they can contribute to our business in many departments, say Mike Kilcooley.
“The novel ideas the apprentices have brought in from their degrees and the hard work they put into their workplace placements have been invaluable for eXmoor, allowing us to continue supporting our clients in delivering ground-breaking therapies to patients.
Our apprentices novel ideas and hard work have been invaluable, allowing us to continue supporting our clients in delivering ground-breaking therapies to patients.
Mike Kilcooley, Viral Vector Team Lead & Apprentice Manager, eXmoor Pharma