Given that manufacturing provides 25 percent of UK output, 66 percent of its exports, three million jobs directly and another 2.4 million indirectly in supply chains and related services, it is safe to say that manufacturing is alive and well. Much of the manual labour it was once characterised by in this country has been moved abroad leaving the knowledge-based work of designing, researching, developing, marketing and selling on British shores. While this is beneficial in the short term, there is a danger that eventually all manufacturing jobs will move out of the country where wages are cheaper.

The future of manufacturing in Britain relies on the success of high tech industries such as aerospace which has been gaining momentum on leaders the United States and Germany. It follows that to stay at the top of UK manufacturing will require a desire to be at the forefront of developments so businesses can maintain the highest levels of engineering and manufacturing skills to compete in a global marketplace. If you feel you could be one of the key industry thinkers and respond to the challenges posed by rivals around the world, manufacturing will be a rewarding career choice.