Engineering and Manufacturing

The sector in a snapshot

According to Prospects, almost 5.5 million people work in engineering in the UK, accounting for just over 18% of all UK employment. Locally, this sector is the third biggest in South Yorkshire's labour market with plenty of growth and more jobs. Engineering and Manufacturing makes up the life blood of all productive services in the UK including areas such as fuel, vehicles, production, telecommunications, power, construction, environmental and commercial.

Engineering is the application of scientific, social, and practical knowledge in order to invent, design, build, maintain, research, and improve structures, machines, devices, systems, materials, and processes. An Engineer is someone who creates and designs new systems and machines. Manufacturing is the making of articles on a large scale using machinery and industrial production. Someone who works in manufacturing usually uses the devices that have been designed by the engineer to create more items that can then be used in more projects.

What could the sector offer you?

A job in this industry may allow you to:

Develop and progress- there are lots of roles within this sector with lots of levels between them, as well as opportunities like apprenticeships to keep you learning.
Have different entry routes- from apprenticeships to employment to graduate roles, it really has it all.
Earn a good salary- jobs can be challenging but long lasting and pay well the more advanced you get.
The chance to be self-employed- some roles within this sector would allow you to work for yourself.
Be part of a growing sector- technology used in engineering and manufacturing is always improving.
The chance to work for a variety of employers- these could be big names or small.

Reality Check

To ensure everything runs smoothly, this industry needs employees who will work hard and appropriately. The work itself can be mentally and physically demanding depending on the role; you will also usually be working in a team with people with varying ideas which you may need to manage. Clear communication is essential especially when working to a client brief. If you make a mistake it could have very bad consequences, from infrastructure to someone's personal vehicle, so accuracy and a high level of training is needed at all times.

You will likely need to have skills in:

Problem solving, creative thinking, logic and reasoning, time management, working to deadlines, team work, communication, budget management

Some roles in the sector

Quality Assurance Technician (approx. £27,560 per annum)

Some manufacturing jobs work closely with products AND customers, like a quality assurance technician. This role involves checking products created by the company for their quality. In some sectors this can be really important a badly made product can cause malfunctions, errors or even worse: accidents! This is an important job and quite varied!

Read more about this role and look at the route into it here.

PRODUCTION OPERATOR (£17k-£24k per annum)

Production Operators are usually involved with the day to day running of factories. Each worker will have responsibility for a task or area, so work can be repetitive but rewarding. Jobs in this area can be in food processing (like Mike in the video opposite), or in production line work in electronics, metals, plastics and more! Jobs in this area are essential to keep production working however as more jobs become automated some of these positions are changing!

MECHANIC/MOTOR VEHICLE TECHNICIAN (between £18k-£35k per annum)

Jobs in this area can vary, but the majority will involve working on small to medium sized vehicles. You will be involved in the repair and maintenance of the electrical and mechanical parts of vehicles. A good entry to the sector would be a Level 2 qualification but apprenticeships also make a valid route. This role is hands on, but just because you're working on cars doesn't mean you won't work with people! Customer service is also an important part of this job as is Health and Safety. Most mechanics are self-employed or work for a small business.