Manufacturing/Production Courses

Manufacturing: Overview

Manufacturing covers a wide variety of industries such as: aerospace, automotive, biotechnical, chemical, clothing and footwear, electronics and engineering, food and drink, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, and tobacco. The largest of these industries is food and drink, the smallest is tobacco.

There is a wide range of opportunities in the manufacturing industry throughout the sector from small companies with 20 staff to huge multinationals employing 100,000. Smaller companies are more prevalent in areas such as food and drink, paper, textiles, mechanical engineering, electronics and instrumentation.

There are also opportunities in the specialist engineering and management consultancies.

Expected Salary

Range of typical starting salaries: £20,000 – £24,000

Range of typical salaries at senior level/with experience: £40,000 – £53,000

Salary levels vary according to location, size of the organisation and the nature of its business. The prevailing economic climate will also have an effect on pay.

Average Starting Salaries by Location:

£18,000 to £22,000for jobs outside London

£22,000 to £30,000 in London

£35,000–50,000+ once further experience and training has been acquired.

Training

A structured training programme is offered by many employers designed to take place place over a designated period of time. Smaller companies may offer less formal training. Training is usually on the job, supplemented by short courses. Specialist training courses are run by external organisations and institutions.

Engineers learn through doing and are encouraged to develop knowledge and skills through on–the–job training and by undertaking a wide variety of tasks. Many skills are developed through working alongside other engineering professionals, including maintenance engineers and manufacturing systems engineers.

Underoak lists many short courses to aid you in your career progression. These may be funded individually or through your company (please check the prices with the trainer, as sometimes they often offer a lower price for self funded training). To search these courses, simply type the relevant key words and click on 'request further information' to send your enquiry direct to the trainer.

Other soft skills may be useful, such as assertiveness or customer service, first aid and health and safety.

Related Careers

There are many options and area for those who are in the manufacturing sector and following are a few related career options:

• Analytical Chemist
• Control and Instrumentation Engineer
• Maintenance Engineer
• Materials Engineer
• Production Manager
• Process Engineer

Core Skills

Specific skills which you may develop from doing a Manufacturing/Production courses include:

• Knowledge and awareness of business organisations: how they operate and are managed, enhancing your commercial awareness, particularly if the course includes a work placement
• Understanding the technical language and practices of accounting and finance, and contemporary theories concerning the practice of financial industries
• Numerical and quantitative skills – developed from understanding, recording and evaluating figures within a business context
• Problem–solving and analytical ability – developed from the numerical aspect of your course and from exercises or project work where you may have to evaluate a business case study and present possible solutions
• Oral and written communication skills – from producing reports and assignments on business issues and delivering presentations (working on group topics and discussing business problems should enhance your ability to argue your case and negotiate with others)
• Knowledge of global business issues, and competence in languages – if you specialise in European or international finance
• Entrepreneurship – if your course includes mock exercises in planning or setting up businesses

Job Sites

Average working hours per week

Job Spotlight

Manufacturing Engineer

The Role

Manufacturing engineering is a creative activity: manufacturing engineers design, implement, monitor and maintain manufacturing processes. They consult with design engineers in order to achieve the most efficient and cost effective way of producing the highest quality product possible.

Employment is found in numerous industries, such as clothing, food and drink, pharmaceuticals and shipbuilding. Many organisations operate 'cross–functional' teams with the manufacturing engineer involved at every stage, from design and development, to production, research and after–sales service.

Manufacturing engineers have expertise in a wide range of manufacturing technologies and computer and management control systems. They apply state–of–the art technology to meet increasingly competitive business needs.

Tasks may include:

• Organising, planning, commissioning and maintaining production lines
• Improving existing operations, incorporating new methods and processes
• Handling equipment purchase and installation
• Investigating operational problems affecting production and dealing with them in a systematic, methodical manner;
• Planning the use of resources and scheduling activities in order to meet an objective
• Preparing manufacturing documentation required for product manufacture
• Co–ordinating projects
• Providing manufacturing data
• Running meetings with other team members
• Identifying ways to reduce production costs
• Managing budgets
• Working with engineering and other departments to produce cost estimates for new designs
• Liaising with research and development departments
• Understanding and analysing graphs and statistics and other complex information
• Giving presentations to engineers and colleagues in other departments
• Liaising with suppliers and customers
• Training and supervising staff
• Working with regulatory bodies to ensure safety, environmental and design standards are met
• Reading specialist journals and attending training courses and industry meetings in order to keep up to date with the latest technological developments and trends within this and other branches of engineering.

Salary:
£25,000 – £30,000 dependent upon sector and location

Career Development

Career development may depend on the size and type of the organisation. as the careers in manufacturing progress the range of activities will increase with more responsibilities in areas such as managing new projects or acting as mentors to new engineers.

After gaining significant experience, it may be possible to become a senior manufacturing engineer. Technical factions may also a path of career development in the manufacturing sector. The flexibility of the employer may enhance the scope to take on different roles within the team, opening up opportunities that could lead to move towards a commercial (sales/purchasing/marketing) role, or into general management.