Manufacturing offers a wide variety of opportunities to get into the industry. Some of the more obvious roles involve the manufacturing process itself such as supply chain management, quality control and operational control which can come under the banner of manufacturing engineer. This type of work requires close adhering to and enforcing of procedures to meet demands and targets, achieve the most efficient, cost effective and high quality production possible. Electrical experts and safety officer are also needed to keep everything running smoothly. If you are good at organising, planning and analysing processes, these will be rewarding roles.

More creative roles come in the form of the design and development of products, whether it is producing state-of-the-art metals for a building project such as the new Wembley stadium, developing a futuristic concept car or working on the latest dishwasher detergent. These can all be rewarding in different ways, it just depends on your specialist skills. Sales jobs are also available to sell the end products and IT plays a pivotal role in keeping the industry moving.

An issue with increasing prominence in the manufacturing industry is that of environmental impact. Concerns about climate change have given rise to global debate and it is now almost impossible to ignore measures a business can take to reduce its negative impact on the environment. As manufacturing essentially creates products out of raw materials and waste in the process, it has to give it serious thought at all times. The industry will no doubt require more environmental specialists to ensure it keeps up with the latest legislation.