A career or further study in the Manufacturing and Product Design sector is full of exciting and groundbreaking opportunities. The Diploma helps to prepare you for them by giving you the skills and experience you need to succeed. What’s different about the Diploma is that businesses in the industry are investing their time to help you do this.
This is why you’ll be learning everything about the industry from the people who know, and the skills you need to succeed in it. What the sector can offer keen young people in return is a chance to make your mark, in a creative environment with really great rewards.
So, what’s it really like?
From cars to computers, soap to cereal - these are all manufactured products. They all came from a design, and are made in such a way that every single one follows the same blueprint.
When you start to think about how many things you use every day, you’ll start to get a picture of just how big this sector is. Around 3 million people work in it, doing literally hundreds of jobs. They include operatives, skilled craftspeople, technicians and technologists. In manufacturing, there’s also professional engineers, designers, scientists and creative craft workers.
What’s great is that many of the best products come from the simplest ideas, so you don’t have to think like a rocket scientist to make your mark here either. And you don’t necessarily have to work for a big business either. Start ups and smaller companies are just as popular a route to go down.
The UK has manufacturing plants all over, producing a huge range of products and goods from textiles to food and drink, furniture and pharmaceutical products. Some areas are even known for producing certain things: Like you might have heard of Sheffield steel, or ceramics from Stoke-on-Trent and footwear around Northamptonshire.
You should have a better idea of how big an area this is to explore, whether you’re thinking of working in it or studying more about it. By doing the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design you’ll get the chance to do just that: Explore everything.
Useful links
Check out the Enginuity website for lots of info on jobs and careers. There's also a whole section on what you can do in manufacturing on the Connexions website plus much more about the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design at Semta (the sector skills council).
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