National consulting company Deloitte has begun collecting data from bioscience companies throughout Birmingham to inform the Birmingham Business Alliance’s (BBA) mission to expand the region’s biotech job market.

“The study will bring together various stakeholder groups, including businesses, government organizations and educational institutions, to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the bioscience industry and identify solutions for building a thriving ecosystem,” reads the BBA press release. “The project will focus on areas such as lab space, a skilled workforce and access to capital.”

Jacqueline Chandler, BBA bioscience program manager said that this expansion plan is part of the alliance’s much larger mission to improve the quality of life for people in Birmingham by increasing the average household income and creating what she called a “recession proof” economy.

“…Of the companies that we recruit here we are always looking at what their average payroll is per employee,” said Chandler. “So, when you look at that on a national scale, bioscience is significantly higher than other industries. And so, by focusing on that we are actually able to raise that average household income in the region through access to jobs like these.”

Chandler continued that the BBA also acknowledges the work that needs to be done to set people in the metro up for success as they bring these jobs into the metro.