LAUNCH OF INDUSTRY ENDORSED BIOSAFETY TRAINING STRUCTURE AND FIRST BIOSAFETY PASSPORT IN SINGAPORE Singapore, 5 February 2015 Asia Pacific Biosafety Association (A-PBA), Biorisk Association of Singapore (BAS), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSHC), Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL) jointly unveil an industry endorsed biosafety training structure and the first biosafety passport for the biomedical and life sciences industry. This initiative will benefit up to 9,000 personnel from more than 50 companies, local universities, and 30 public-sector institutes. Biosafety Training Structure In 2003 the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak highlighted the importance of biological safety (biosafety) in Singapore. Laboratories realized the need for biosafety professionals to coordinate the safety aspects of laboratory diagnosis and research in highly-dangerous microorganisms such as the SARS virus. WDA, with the help of the various regulatory agencies, ministries, hospital clusters, research institutes and universities, has developed a comprehensive biosafety training structure mapping the skills gaps and progression pathways for the industry. It will take reference from the CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA), an international guideline written by the European Committee for Standardization, which addresses the broad range of competencies and abilities required by individuals who advise management and personnel on the safe and secure use of biological material. This document is the work of international organizations and biosafety associations (of which the Asia Pacific Biosafety Association is one), and the World Health Organization. Use of Page 1
this document and working with an internationally accredited training body will add international recognition and validity to the Biosafety Training Structure. There are three levels of training in the biosafety structure. The first level is the Biosafety Induction Programme (BIP) which is pegged at the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications System (WSQ) Advanced Certificate level. BIP is designed as an orientation course for all laboratories users who will be in contact with biologicals or biologically derived agents. Under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, employers have a duty to ensure that their employees received adequate safety and health training necessary for them to perform their work. The second level is the Biosafety Professional Programme (BP 2 ), which is pegged at the WSQ Specialist Diploma level. It is designed for experienced employees who aspire to become Biosafety Coordinators or Biosafety Officers who deal with safety issues at the operation and management level for high containment facilities. BP 2 maps out the current skills and knowledge requirement of Biosafety Coordinators under the Biological Agents and Toxins Act (BATA). The pinnacle level is the Professional Certification for Continued Education and comprises Professional Workshops, Conferences, and Masterclasses conducted by professional bodies such as A-PBA and BAS. These workshops will cover the emerging trends and development of the industry to keep our biosafety professionals updated. Mr Peter Chia, Chief Operating Officer of TLL commented, A well-designed research infrastructure coupled with a strong culture of safety will allow scientists to work untethered and partner with other scientists in confidence to generate impactful outcomes that can benefit society. As we move towards a more collaborative intensive phase of our development, we would like to congratulate the industry on the launch of the biosafety training structure as we see it playing a key role in supporting researchers, as they pursue discoveries and push the envelope of science". Dr Viji Vijayan, Director of Safety, Health and Emergency Management, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, who is part of the WDA Biosafety Technical committee, said Safety, especially biosafety is close to my heart and working in the WDA technical committee has given me an opportunity to work towards harmonizing the practices of biosafety in the whole of Singapore. The BIP allows learner to seamlessly move across organizations without compromising safety standards. Once employed in an organization Page 2
they will need to only learn site practices that are unique to that organization, but the foundation that is provided in the BIP remains strongly rooted in them. Dr Derrick Heng, Group Director (Public Health Group) of MOH also commented, Since the laboratory-acquired SARS infection incident in Singapore in 2003, we have come a long way. We have put in place the Biological Agents and Toxins Act (2005) and a national biosafety framework. Through the years, many biosafety training courses have been conducted. These courses have so far focused on biosafety trainers and people working in high containment laboratories. MOH welcomes the Biosafety Induction Programme, which will extend such training to everyone in the bio-laboratory community. Dr Lee Hock Siang, Director, OSH Specialist Department, Occupational Safety and Health Division, Ministry of Manpower said, The Biosafety Passport and the Biosafety Training Structure will align safety and health practices across companies in the industry, and contribute to a more productive and safer workforce. MOM is happy to support this initiative to build up biosafety capabilities for employees working in laboratories. Biosafety Passport To balance between business viability and competencies of the workers, instead of completing the full BIP, individuals who have been certified competent in the core WSQ module Follow Good Biosafety Practices in the Workplace will receive the biosafety passport. The biosafety passport will be recognised by employers in the sector and reduce the time spent on repetitive biosafety training. In the long run, there will be productivity improvement and employers can be assured that their employees are aware of the potential risks associated with the biologicals or biologically derived agents and they are informed on how to handle them. Currently, there are more than 7,100 researchers carrying out biomedical sciences R&D in more than 50 companies, universities, and 30 public-sector institutes. In addition, based on the Sectoral Manpower Development Plan for the biologics manufacturing industry, the industry hires close to 1,700 employees at six biologics manufacturing facilities. We estimate close to 9,000 individuals will benefit from the biosafety passport. This collectively translates to potential time savings of 35,200 hours or 52 weeks. Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Manpower, witnessed the pledge of collaboration between Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), A-PBA, BAS, Changi General Hospital, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Environmental Health Institute (EHI), Workplace Safety and Health Page 3
Council (WSHC), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Manpower( MOM), Nanyang Technology University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS), Novartis Institute For Tropical Diseases Medicine Pte. Ltd, Novartis Singapore Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Roche Singapore Technical Operations Pte Ltd, SingHealth, Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), WDA and TLL for the Biosafety Passport. The ceremony was attended by more than 120 guests representing stakeholders from the local industries and government agencies, as well as the National Biosafety Association and Country Working Group representatives from at least 12 countries from the Asia- Pacific region. Dr Chua Teck Mean, President of APBA said, In this new age of expanding international trade and travel, any major outbreak of an emerging or re-emerging disease in any part of the world such as the Ebola outbreak in western Africa, raises a global concern. In this common threat, no one country can be effective in its control if the neighbouring countries are ill prepared. We cannot be safe unless our neighbours are safe and we cannot effectively protect ourselves unless we help protect our neighbours. A key success factor in addressing this challenge is to provide a systematic training programme on biosafety and biosecurity for all personnel handling biohazard agents. We like to congratulate Singapore on the launching of the Biosafety Passport and we hope that this experience will be an exemplary model that we can encourage other national communities to develop similar training programme in their country for our collective safety in the region and around the world. Mr Ang Chai Soon, Director, Manufacturing Division, WDA said, WDA is glad to support the industry in the development of the new Biosafety Structure and the first biosafety passport which will harmonise the best biosafety practices in Singapore. Through WSQ training, WDA aims to instill the correct biosafety mentality in all biomedical and related workers to make laboratory environment a safer working environment for all. To enable Singapore graduates to be more industry-ready, WDA has worked with the Institutes of Higher Learning such as Singapore Institute of Technology to embed the biosafety passport as part of their academic curriculum. 600 students are expected to benefit from this initiative each year. Companies are also looking forward to adopt the biosafety passport as basic induction training for new employees. For companies with no in-house training capability, WDA will work with the polytechnics to deliver the training to their employees. Page 4
For media enquiries, please contact: Steven Ng Principal Manager, Corporate & Marketing Communications Singapore Workforce Development Agency DID: +65 6512-1241 Email: steven_ng@wda.gov.sg Cheryl Chng Zhen-Zhi Manager, IP Office & Marketing Communications Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory DID: +65 6872-7068 Email: cheryl@tll.org.sg Shireen Yeo Manager, Corporate Communications Division Ministry of Health (65) 6325 1220 (65) 9062 7062 Email : Shireen_YEO@moh.gov.sg Kong Yi Ting Manager, Corporate Communications Department Ministry of Manpower DID: 6499 6129 E-mail: Kong_Yi_Ting@mom.gov.sg Page 5