Almac was proud to launch a new strategic partnership this year with the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, which is the largest and top-ranked historically public black college and university (HBCU) in the US.

The partnership is designed to build a talent pipeline between Almac and the university, serving as a springboard for unique student engagement, recruitment, and mentorship opportunities with Almac Group. The esteemed university, located just an hour’s drive from our Durham facility, has approximately 1,800 students, 87% of whom are Black and 95% of whom are from underrepresented populations.

Engagement launched in March 2023 with a ‘Day in the Life’ visit with the university’s supply chain club, which included a meet and greet for students and Almac’s global supply chain leadership, a facility tour and a panel discussion on topics ranging from global supply chain opportunities to industry career advice.

SistersIN is a leadership programme that aims to empower and develop young women in sixth form to build their confidence and raise their aspirations for future senior leadership positions.

Almac supported the SistersIN programme as a Growth Partner in 2023. A group of female leaders across the business mentored a range of 16–17 year old girls from schools across Northern Ireland over a four month period providing career guidance and advice. The programme culminated in a day on-site at Almac’s Craigavon facility where the students met their mentors face-to-face and spent time learning more about the Almac business.

This year, Almac joined Carers UK’s business forum Employers for Carers (EFC), to enhance the support we currently give to working carers. We were proud to be the first indigenous Northern Irish company to join EFC, which provides guidance on how employers can support carers within the workplace.

To complement this partnership, our #All4Health team designed a bespoke carers toolkit to help employees define what it means to be a carer and how to access available support. We also set up a dedicated carers network to encourage employees to share advice and guidance with others and to help develop the business’s understanding of what additional support they need.

This year, Almac was delighted to welcome over 140 children and grandchildren of our employees into our Souderton, Audubon, and Durham facilities for ‘Bring Your Child to Work Day’ 2023.

Almac marked this occasion by hosting a full day of sessions for children aged 8-17. These sessions included a science experiment, age-modified teambuilding activities, a charitable activity, facility tours, and an interview skills workshop.