Business Articles

Find an Ab Fab career in manufacturing

Teenagers are choosing media studies over manufacturing in the classroom and turning their backs on a true Ab Fab career in industry, where foreign travel, fat pay packets, early responsibility and rapid promotion are on offer to factory fast trackers.

In 2005 just 4,319 students sat the manufacturing GCSE in England while nearly ten times as many pursued the media studies course, according to the Manufacturing Institute, a charity which is aiming to attract talented teenagers into the profession.

Pushing manufacturing further up the agenda in schools is one of the starting points and the Institute is developing an exciting, interactive online resource that will help teachers interest young people in manufacturing. Course content will be developed in partnership with teachers over the summer, with a view to piloting the product in North West England early next year.

Eddie Kirkby, project leader for new product development at the Manufacturing Institute hopes that these efforts will have a knock-on effect throughout the GCSE programme. "Manufacturing at the moment is seen as something to fall into if other options pass you by. The perception of the industry has suffered and negative coverage in the popular press doesnﾒt help. If we can counter the myths that surround the sector and present it as a desirable career path, it could uplift attainment across the GCSE programme and encourage more school leavers into the profession."

"What young people, parents, teachers and even careers advisors donﾒt seem to realise is that through working in manufacturing, many people go on to obtain degrees, MScs and even doctorates, so the GCSE can be just the beginning of an academically rich career"

Added Julie Madigan, chief executive of The Manufacturing Institute: "Gone are the days of dark satanic mills and endless hours spent sticking widgets together on production lines. Modern manufacturing faces premier league global competition and competes on innovation, creativity and all-round smart thinking. This is a career opportunity for bright people to work in a variety of roles for some of the worldﾒs most agile organisations operating in a dynamic worldwide marketplace.

"If young people write manufacturing off as dirty, boring or dead end, theyﾒre losing out on one of the most rewarding careers available."

On a wider level, the Manufacturing Institute is acting as a bridge between schools and manufacturing employers to promote awareness and encourage involvement on both sides.

Two major events to woo teenagers into the sector are being programmed for National Enterprise Week this November (13th - 19th).

For the second year running, the Manufacturing Institute and partners are launching a Manufacturing & Engineering Zone at Skills Northwest; a 3-day careers event which is expected to attract 30,000 young people. Organisations participating include Jaguar, Smiths Aerospace, MBDA, McBrides, Chemicals Northwest, Victoria Foods and Unibox. Apprentices from some of the companies will be delivering hands-on activities and talking to students about their work and routes into the sector.

The second event, taking place on Manufacturing Day (November 14), is the Manufacturing & Enterprise Challenge ﾖ in which teams of young people will become a manufacturing business for the day, competing against each other to make the most profit and generate the best productivity.

Students will be assigned to specific job roles within the business ' from production and finance to sales and marketing ' to get a feel for what a manufacturing career is really like.

Media Info and Editor Notes

All articles reproduced with permission from This Is Your Business