The New York/New Jersey metro area ranks No. 1 across the nation for life sciences manufacturing talent, which includes drug manufacturing as well as cell and gene therapy, according to CBRE’s annual U.S. Life Sciences Talent Trends report, which was recently released.

The new study analyzes life sciences employment by subsector, mapping out the top markets and employment trends across the research & development, manufacturing and medical technology fields.

New York/New Jersey leads the nation in the number of new biology, biological and biomedical sciences graduates, contributing to the region’s ranking as a top life science hub.

“Emerging biotechnologies and gene therapies require increasingly skilled manufacturing employees to meet the growing need,” CBRE Vice Chair Bill Hartman said. “New York/New Jersey holds the advantage as an historic leader in pharmaceutical, medicine and chemical manufacturing. We have a well-established base of manufacturing and distribution labor.”

“Identifying the appropriate talent pool for a company’s manufacturing needs can be complex, with a variety of extremely specific needs and skills,” Tom Sullivan, executive vice president, CBRE, said. “For example, a large pharmaceutical company’s high-volume production facility might have different needs compared to a smaller cell and gene therapy organization.”

According to the CBRE report, the life sciences research & development subsector in New York/New Jersey ranks No. 4 nationally with a total of 43,290 occupations, mostly as data scientists (16,330) and medical scientists (8,883).

The life sciences manufacturing subsector boasts New York/New Jersey as its largest market, with a talent pool of 57,650 led by inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers and weighers (17,640) and packaging and filling machine setters, operators and tenders (14,630).

New York/New Jersey’s medtech subsector, which includes designing and producing medical devices, ranks No. 5 with 37,960 occupations, anchored by big companies. Electrical, electronic and electromechanical assemblers were the largest portion of the talent pool (8,860), followed by industrial engineers (8,630).

The report, now in its third year, evaluates the largest 100 U.S. life sciences labor markets against multiple criteria for each of the three specialties. For the R&D subsector, that included the number and concentration of life sciences researchers; number of new graduates, and specifically with doctorates in that field; concentration of all doctorate holders; and concentration of jobs in the broader professional, scientific and technical services professions.

Paul Hoelscher, the mayor of Harrington Park since 1992 and a councilman from 1977 to 1983, died on June 13.  He was 82.  Since he was elected as an independent, the governing body will fill his seat on an interim basis and a special election to fill the remaining 37 months of his term.  The Democratic and Republican county committees will pick their nominees, if any, and a new filing period for independent candidates will open up.

Steven DuBois, the husband of former Salem County Republican Chair Linda Dubois, died on June 10.  He was 72.

Gordon Lawshe, the Caldwell Republican municipal chairman and a former councilman, died on June 12.  He was 72.

Richard Bowe, who served as mayor of Byram Township for sixteen years and then spent a decade as the municipal court judge.  He was

David Boynton, a former mayor of Frelinghuysen and a township committeeman for 27 years, died on June 12.  He was 77.  A Marine veteran, Boynton served in the Vietnam War.

Tina Larsen, a ten-year member of the Newton Board of Education, was killed in a car accident on March 6.  She was 54.

Ronald Gibbins, a Korean War veteran who served on the Frankford Planning Board, died on April 18.  He was 87.

Ethel Henderson, whose late husband, Henry, served as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, died on June 12.  She was 97.

I’ve come across one of my new favorite public golf courses. And it’s one I had never heard of until just the other day.

It’s in the mountains of Hunterdon County. Well, mountains might be a stretch, but compared to where I’m from they certainly look like mountains.

It’s High Bridge Hills Golf Club in High Bridge New Jersey. It’s one of the most picturesque golf courses I’ve played in our state.

SEE MORE: Three New Jersey gems you’ve likely never been to before

Super hilly, beautiful views of the vegetation and rolling hills around you. Some of the tee boxes are incredibly high up which creates a fun look.

It’s also a relatively wide-open course. There aren’t many times you’ll find yourself in the trees. The problem though, is the fescue rough that is seemingly on every single hole.

If you miss the fairway you’re likely to end up in knee-high fescue rough that is just impossible to hit out of.

There’s also a ton of blind tee shots. It’s essentially “target golf” if you will. Pick out your target from the tee box and try and hit it there and hope. Because you won’t be able to see where your ball lands on a lot of these holes.

The condition of the course is as good as you’re going to get especially for a public course. The fairways are tightly mown and the greens are fast and roll very true. You won’t have to worry about any unexpected bounces.

It will really feel like you’re playing a course outside of NJ. It’s one that should be on your bucket list.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5’s Kyle Clark. Any opinions expressed are his own.

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