Graduate Careers in Manufacturing
Graduate careers in manufacturing are an increasingly popular option. Whilst it is true that the sector has had to remould and refocus itself over the past ten years in the face of global competition and price pressures, out of the flames of change has risen a phoenix of opportunity. This is reflected in the opportunities and prospects a graduate career in manufacturing offers. Driven by innovation, manufacturing in the UK is now focused on delivering high value-added production and exploitation niche global markets, young, fresh graduates are a key part of this process. Read on to discover what a graduate career in manufacturing involves.
Around such change in industry, a sector has developed that requires increasingly specialised skills in design, engineering and production. Gone are the days of endless hours spent sticking widgets together on production lines. Instead, modern manufacturing needs to innovate on design and processes to deliver a high-value product to an increasingly discerning customer.
As a graduate, regardless of discipline, you can help drive this revolution in the sector. The natural misconception among graduates is that you need a strong engineering background to work within manufacturing. Clearly there are many opportunities for engineering graduates within manufacturing, in areas as diverse as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, chemical and automotive. Many roles within these areas will require a degree, MSc or PhD in chemistry, engineering, biology, design or other relevant technical areas. Alongside this though there are many other opportunities within manufacturing, from customer, business or financial management to training and development roles that are open to all graduates.
What is clear then is UK manufacturing is not standing still, with more and more emphasis being placed on product and process innovation, what is also clear is that a career in the sector will also never stand still. As the world gets smaller and the market place becomes increasingly global, manufacturers are increasingly looking to develop in these emerging markets, with the knock on effect of increased global travel for manufacturing specialists. The talk is constantly of manufacturing disappearing to China and other low cost countries; however the reality is that these emerging markets also represent a real opportunity for the sector. Whether through direct investment or the development of strategic partners within the ‘home’ markets, UK manufacturers are constantly investigating new opportunities in markets containing billions of consumers. Put simply, the Indians and the Chinese are not just making things for us, but also their increasingly prosperous populations are demanding the high value products that are designed and produced by us.
So what is the natural path to follow for a graduate career in manufacturing? As suggested before, there is no ‘natural’ route as it largely depends what discipline you choose to work within in what is a very diverse sector. Many large manufacturers, such as Rolls-Royce, Unilever and the British Nuclear Group have graduate programmes with openings for people with both technical and humanities degrees. Alongside these openings the sector, with an ageing workforce and skills shortages, can offer a range of exciting and diverse graduate careers in manufacturing with ongoing training and development opportunities and added incentives such as global travel. Did you know, for example, that on average a Production Manager earns the same as an Architect (average gross weekly of £670)?
Contributed by:
The Manufacturing Institute
Quay West
Trafford Wharf Road
Manchester M17 1HH
www.manufacturinginstitute.co.uk
