The UK pharmaceutical industry is one of the most dynamic and crucial sectors of the economy. Each year, the revenue this sector generates accounts for much of the national GDP figures. Furthermore, the majority of the drugs consumed within the UK are produced by UK pharmaceutical companies. This is not surprising as there are more pharmaceutical companies in the UK than anywhere else in Europe. This also means that the UK is the largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the continent. Like the bio-tech industry, the pharmaceutical industry is also currently facing the challenge of increasing production costs. The introduction of new recruitment regulations have the potential to further increase these costs. Aside from the cost problems, the industry is also facing stagnating investment. This is mainly due to the fact that investors in this sector have very low business confidence.

Just like the bio-tech sector, the pharmaceutical industry is one in which Quanta has experience and specialized knowledge. Hence, Quanta is able to provide competent advice and guidance on pharmaceutical recruitment.As always, when it comes to recruiting subjects, pharmaceutical companies must ensure that they meet all government recruitment regulations. They must also make certain that all guidelines on health and safety are fully met. Failure to comply with all recruitment rules and regulations will usually result in fines and legal action. The new government regulation on age discrimination could result in pharmaceutical companies altering the way they recruit staff. In response to this recruitment legislation, more employers may begin to place more stringent job requirements on their vacancies. This will inevitable lead to higher levels of unemployment among lower qualified applicants.

In order to avoid breach, the new regulation also requires that Pharmaceutical companies must train and educate their staff on all aspects of the recruitment legislation. The extra investment involved in this could further increase the costs within the industry. Therefore, more employers within the sector may begin to outsource jobs overseas. They would do this in order to obtain benefits of cheaper labor and scale economies. The effect of this could mean higher redundancies and rates of unemployment within the pharmaceutical industry. Having said this, the new regulation will certainly give opportunities to applicants who might otherwise have been overlooked. It remains to be seen to what extent recruitment regulations will affect both investment and rising costs in the pharmaceutical industry.