National Apprenticeship Week: Cameron's Story
12th February 2025
James Collier's Level 6 Scientist Degree Apprenticeship (Bioscience) at eXmoor Pharma, has afforded him the opportunity to lead a technical study, work with various cell lines and types, and gain experience in different areas of a full service Cell & Gene Therapy CDMO.
The combination of structured learning and hands-on experience has set me on a strong path toward a successful career in the cell therapy field.
James Collier, Level 6 Scientist Degree Apprenticeship, eXmoor Pharma
James aspires to work in the cell therapy industry, and his apprenticeship at eXmoor has provided him with vital and transferrable skills including cell culture, and planning, conducting, and analysing data from experiments that are essential for a successful scientific career.
“I have had the opportunity to lead a study, work with various cell lines and types, and gain experience in different areas to develop a more complete understanding of the industry as a whole. The combination of structured learning and hands-on experience has set me on a strong path toward a successful career in the cell therapy field.”
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.
Driving Continuous Improvement
Apprenticeships have broader benefits besides the obvious ones for the apprentice and the immediate projects they are working on. As Mike Kilcooley, Viral Vector Team Lead & Apprentice Manager at eXmoor Pharma explains,
“We have put in place many new training tools for the apprentices which have subsequently been used with new and existing staff too, helping drive our continuous improvement process.”
eXmoor’s apprenticeship programme has presented a wide range of benefits for staff and for apprentices. Junior staff have been able to to develop mentoring and managerial skills when taking on supervisory roles with apprentices, ensuring they are guided through their placement with care and consideration for their development.
Having placements across many areas of the business provides a holistic development pathway for exMoor’s apprentices, allowing them to be well-rounded and flexible in how they can contribute to the business in many departments. Moreover, the new ideas apprentices bring in from their degrees and their hard working attitude have been, in Mike Kilcooley’s view, “invaluable for eXmoor, allowing us to continue supporting our clients in delivering ground-breaking therapies to patients.”
Junior staff have been able to to develop mentoring and managerial skills when taking on supervisory roles with apprentices, ensuring they are guided through their placement with care and consideration for their development.
Mike Kilcooley, Viral Vector Team Lead & Apprentice Manager, eXmoor Pharma