Merck Irvine

Who they are

Merck is the world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company, with more than 1,300 employees across 11 UK locations.

The challenge

Merck’s Ayrshire facility wanted to strengthen internal capability while creating more opportunities for people from the local community to build careers in life sciences.

The ambition was to create a Learning Academy that could support recruitment, onboarding and continuous development, improving the employee experience while giving people the practical skills they needed to succeed.

The vision was there, and there was strong internal support. What Merck needed was help turning that vision into something practical, structured and sustainable.

“Without the Learning Academy structure in place we would never have achieved what we have. I hope that Connect Three see this Learning Academy project as a success for them every bit as much as it’s a success for us. Without the impact that they had, we’d be standing in a very different situation right now.”

The solution

Connect Three worked alongside Merck to take the Learning Academy from concept to reality.

Our support covered the full learning experience, from reviewing onboarding and identifying skills gaps to designing learning, developing trainers and helping establish the internal team that would take the Academy forward.

We worked with employees through focus groups to understand where development was needed, then created structured learning that supported both new recruits and existing employees.

The approach moved learning away from slides and into practical application. Exercises recreated real workplace situations in a safe environment, while tools including virtual reality allowed people to experience risks, practise decision-making and learn from situations before facing them on the job.

We also supported Merck to recruit three people into the internal Learning Academy team, building the capability to sustain the work beyond our direct involvement.

The impact

Since the Learning Academy launched, Merck has brought 64 new people into the organisation.

The business also reported increased employee engagement alongside reductions in both quality-related and safety-related incidents, outcomes Merck attributes to the Academy.

More importantly, the organisation now has a structure for developing people from the moment they join and continuing to build capability throughout their careers.

What began as an idea became a practical, embedded learning environment designed to support both Merck's people and its future talent pipeline.