In its endeavor to meet the requirement of the biotechnology sector, the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) along with Aspiring Minds launched AMCAT ABLE Life Sciences Certification program, an online testing tool to evaluate the employability quotient of students aspiring to work for the Biotech industry. With the aim of bringing up an inclusive employability platform for the Indian youth, this platform assesses the aspirant's language, cognitive, personality and functional skills important for the Biotech industry.

AMCAT ABLE Life Sciences Certification test shall be conducted by Aspiring Minds on the premises of colleges offering graduate and post-graduate courses in science, pharmacy and bio technology. Also, Aspiring Minds' 60+ centers across India will offer the certification to aspirants. AMCAT is India's Largest Employability Test catering to the IT, ITeS, BFSI, Retail, Hospitality and Manufacturing Industry. This association with a reputed body like ABLE shall help extend AMCAT's success to the BioTech industry as well.

Human resources constitute an increasingly critical function in any biotechnology company. Whatever the changing fortunes of the biotechnology industry are, successful management of human resources is essential. The Indian biotech industry is facing a scarce talent pool and ABLE is in the process of bridging this gap through various methods. "The Indian biotechnology sector is one of the fastest growing knowledge-based sectors in India and is expected to play a key role in shaping India's rapidly developing economy. With numerous comparative advantages in terms of research and development (R&D) facilities, knowledge, skills, and cost effectiveness, the biotechnology industry in India has immense potential to emerge as a global key player. This evaluation test is a first of its kind program in the biotechnology sector and ABLE is proud to announce this initiative as part of its commitment towards improving biotechnology landscape in India," said Dr PM Murali, President - Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprise (ABLE).

The biotechnology education industry is a relatively young industry with lack of awareness of industry needs. The academic spectrum is wide with tens of thousands of students being trained in several life science courses each year. However, lack of awareness and educated guidance is coming in the path of employability of these students. National level certifications can help in this regard by enabling awareness and access to a certified pool to the industry. There is a huge need of standardized automated assessments to be built and deployed in the industry. According to Himanshu Aggarwal, CEO - Aspiring Minds, "We assess students on their employability across India through our flagship test, AMCAT. AMCAT ABLE Life Sciences Certification shall extend that platform and aid in showcasing Employable Talent to the industry for different roles and functions. AMCAT's comprehensive Employability Report shall go a long way in helping Biotech aspirants understand their strengths and areas of improvements in their quest to work for the booming Biotech industry in India."

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD - Biocon, congratulated ABLE & Aspiring Minds and said: "The biotechnology sector in India has the potential to address several challenges faced by our country. Currently at US$ 5 billion, the Indian biotech sector is expected to grow to US$ 100 billion by 2025. However this transformation to a bio-economy can be enabled only through good quality talent and AMCAT ABLE Life Sciences certification program is expected to develop 'industry ready' biotech professionals who can partake in this exciting journey. I am sure the industry will benefit with the new initiative as it will improve access to employable biotech professionals."

ABLE along with government agencies and others have launched several initiatives over the past years to assist in eliminating the gap between industry, academia and Government, which is hampering the growth of the industry. ABLE has begun nurturing young entrepreneurs through NEST and BEST programmes for students, in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology, which is yielding good results.