Spotlight on

Advanced Materialand ManufacturingContents

Manufacture a new career for yourself

Wales needs more...

What jobs can I do?

Employment Hotspots

Meet the employers

What can I earn?

Getting in

Skills in demand

What about the future?

Manufacture a new career for yourself

Advanced Materials and Manufacturing is an exciting sector in Wales, employing over 150,000 people. For example, if you have a mobile phone you’ll probably have technology that was developed right here in Wales.

Many jobs are highly skilled and well paid. You could work on drones, space innovation, maintaining jets, communications, holograms or alternative fuels and technologies.

You could work in Aerospace and Defence, Automotives, Photonics (light particles eg fibre optics, lasers), Space, Low Carbon, Maintenance Repair and Operations and Unmanned Aircraft Systems(UAS)/Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS).

Advanced materials are key to smart technologies and sustainable growth. They will be used to help develop products that don’t even exist yet.

Demand for Engineers in Wales will be high

8,000Engineers will be needed in

Wales up to 2022 (Working Futures, 2012-2022)

150,000people work in

Manufacturing in Wales in over 5,000 companies. Most of

these are Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s)

(Welsh Government, 2014)

Wales is one of the world leaders in

alternative fuels and low carbon applications

(Welsh Government, 2016)

Manufacturing is the

3rd largest industry

in North Wales and employs

27,000 people (North Wales Economic Ambition Board, 2016)

7% of the workforce in Wales is employed in the sector(Welsh Government, 2015) This is higher than the percentage for the UK as a whole.

Spotlight on Advanced Materials and Manufacturing careerswales.com

What jobs can I do?

Some of the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing jobs you could do:

Wales needs more...

Aeronautical Engineer

CNC Turner

Design Engineer

Electrical Engineering Technician

Electronics Assembler

Electronics Engineer

Engineering Maintenance Fitter

Laboratory Technician

Maintenance Engineer

Manufacturing Production Manager

Marine Engineering Technician

Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical Engineering Technician

Musical Instrument Technician

Naval Architect

Process Development Technologist

Quality Control Inspector

Stock Controller/Stores Assistant

Tool Maker

Programmers and Software Developers, Stock Control

Business Sales Executives, Production Managers and Directors,

Metal Working Production and Maintenance,

Electricans and Electrical Fitters,

Financial Accounts Managers, Quality Assurance Professionals,

Storage Managers and Directors, IT and Telecoms Professionals,

Engineering Technicians, Engineering Professionals

Employment Hotspots

11,400

7,900

7,300

7,100

6,800

6,000

5,900

5,800

4,500

4,400

3,500

3,000

2,700

2,300

2,200

1,500

1,100

800

1,200

1,700

West Wales is home to the world’s largest dedicated airspace for testing

civil and military RPAS (Remotely Piloted

Aircraft Systems) (Just Ask Wales, 2014)

4% of people in Advanced Materials and Manufacturing are self employed

(Welsh Government, 2015)

Nearly 60% of people are employedin large companies

(Welsh Government, 2015)

Source: Welsh Government, 2015

Flintshire

Neath Port Talbot

Bridgend

Rhondda Cynon Taff

Wrexham

Caerphilly

Cardiff

Newport

Carmarthenshire

Torfaen

Powys

Denbighshire

Monmouthshire

Swansea

Blaenau Gwent

Pembrokeshire

Vale of Glamorgan

Merthyr Tydfil

Isle of Anglesy

Gwynedd

Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) LtdDeeside

Meet the Employers

These are some of the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing employers in Wales:

BA Wales PlcAircraft Maintenance Pontyclun

Biomet UK LtdSurgical Implant and Instrument Manufacture, Bridgend

Ford Motor CompanyBridgend

AirbusAircraft Manufacture, Broughton, Flintshire

Control Techniques Drives LtdMotor Control Products Manufacture, Newtown

GE Aircraft Engineer Services LtdNantgarw

IQE PlcSupplier of Wafer Products to Semiconductor Industry, Cardiff

Spotlight on Advanced Materials and Manufacturing careerswales.com

What can I earn?

Salaries can vary depending on your experience, the employer and where you live. Higher salaries can be awarded for more senior positions. Salaries also vary for self-employed workers.

Assembler Electronics £12,500 - £19,500

CNC Turner £12,500 - £20,000

Machine Operator £13,000 - £25,000

Forklift Truck Operator £14,000 - £24,000

Quality Controller £14,000 - £25,000

Laboratory Technician £14,000 - £28,000

Chemical Plant Process £14,000 - £25,000 Operator

Maintenance Fitter £16,500 - £31,000

Packaging Designer £17,000 - £45,000

Electrical Engineer £18,000 - £43,000

Automobile Engineering £21,500 - £35,000 Technician

Production Planner £22,500 - £38,500

Manufacturing Engineer £22,500 - £42,000

Design Engineer £24,000 - £42,000

Polymer Technologist £24,000 - £45,000

Mechanical Engineer £24,000 - £48,000

Maritime Engineer £24,000 - £48,000

Aeronautical Engineer £24,500 - £48,000

Automotive Engineer £24,500 - £48,000

Chemical Engineer £26,000 - £45,000

Biochemical Engineer £26,000 - £45,000

Job Salary range dependent on experience (£) £0 £50,000 £101,000

Average salary for full time employees in

Advanced Materials and Manufacturing is over

£600 per week. This is higher than the

average full time earnings in Wales

(ASHE ONS, 2014)

This sector adds more value to the

economy than most other sectors.

(Annual Business Survey ONS, 2015)

Source: Cascaid, 2015

Spotlight on Advanced Materials and Manufacturing careerswales.com

Try our Career search Find a HE course

‘New graduate Engineers

earn £28,992 on average compared to £21,700 for all

graduates ’(HESA, 2013)

‘More engineeringgraduates find employment than new graduates in general, 74% compared to 68% ’(HESA, 2014)

Find a courseSearch for an Apprenticeship

Getting In

Many jobs in Advanced Materials and Manufacturing are highly skilled such as managers, professionals and technicians. The industry needs Science, Technlogy, Engineering and Maths graduates.

Apprenticeships are a great way of getting into the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing sector. You can start at an entry level or can work towards a higher level degree as part of your apprenticeship:

• Engineering Manufacture Apprenticeship (Level 2 & 3)

• Laboratory and Science Technicians (Level 2 & 3)

• Composite Engineering (Level 2 & 3)

• Metal Processing and Allied Operations (Level 2 & 3)

• Operations and Quality Improvement (Level 3)

• Advanced Manufacturing (Level 4)

• Engineering Manufacture (Level 4)

• Advanced Manufacture (Level 6)

For more professional jobs within the sector, employers will look for a higher skill level so you might need a degree qualification.

There are plenty of HE courses you could do. Such as:

• BEng Aerospace Engineering or Chemical Engineering or Environmental Engineering or Materials Science and Engineering

• MEng Aerospace Engineering or Chemical Engineering or Environmental Engineering or Materials Science and Engineering

• MSc Aerospace Engineering or Nanoscience to Nanotechnology or Materials Engineering

• Engineering Doctorate

• PhD Chemical Engineering or Nanotechnology

6 masters level qualifications are being developed within the industry.

Get Networking!Networking and word of mouth are particularly important in the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing sector. Get to know other people and businesses, face-to-face and through social media. Build your network of contacts to sell yourself and your ideas.

Network! Network! Network!

Get experience! Get as much work experience as you can. Lack of general work experience is one of the top 3 reasons employers give for not employing someone.

Spotlight on Advanced Materials and Manufacturing careerswales.com

Skills in demand

High level skills are in demand in this sector. Many production jobs have been replaced by machinery or robots. The sector needs technicians, engineers and scientists who can be flexible to respond to new devleopments.Skills needed:

• Flexibility• In depth product knowledge• High Level ICT skills• Commercial and technical skills• Problem soving

24% of people working in Advanced Materials and Manufacturing have a Level

4 qualification or above. For example, a Higher National Certificate (HNC).

“We need polymer chemists and textile technologists. We require a big crossover of skills, including chemical engineering and

conventional process engineering.”(Industrial Needs Survey MAeKES Project, 2014)

The Royal Academy of Engineering identified a need for more than 100,000 STEM

graduates per year until 2020(Industrial Needs Survey MAeKES Project, 2014)

In the future high value products will focus on taking advantage of new materials such as composites, nanotechnology,

optoelectronics, printable electronics and silicon electronics.

(Welsh Government, 2015)

New in the Sector...You might be interested in applying artificial intelligence to engineering or marine renewable energy? Perhaps you would like sustainable manufacturing, products for sustainable living, or with reduced impact on the environment?

Manufacturing is always changing. Some of the new areas in the sector are:

• Next generation microsystems–based products

• Advanced Materials and Computational Mechanics uses computer models to understand real world materials

• Programming and coding

• Virtual Reality is being used to design and develop new products

• 3D printing is constantly moving forward and even metal parts are now being printed making a big impact on the design and manufacture of products

• Smart Technology

You will need to be prepared to retrain in new processes.

Spotlight on Advanced Materials and Manufacturing careerswales.com

23%

20%

18%

16%

15%

12%

6%

5%

3%

4%

Production Manager and Directors

Quality and Regulatory Professionals

Engineering Professionals

IT and Telecommunication Professionals

Design Occupations

Research and Development Managers

Science, Engineering and Production Technicians

Elementary Process Plant Occupations

Other Skilled Trades

Average overall predicted growth in Wales

Source: Working Futures 2012-2022

What about the future?

Employees in this sector need to keep their skills updated to keep up with the changes in technology.Fastest growing Advanced Materials and Manufacturing jobs in Wales, shown in percentage of growth.

Do I need Welsh Language skills?

If you work in Wales, being able to speak and write in both Welsh and English can give you an advantage in the workplace, especially if you are working in a Welsh speaking area and need to communicate with people as part of your job.

In the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing sector

11%of the people who work in the Advanced Material and Manufacturing workforce are Welsh speaking (Census, 2011)

Spotlight on Advanced Materials and Manufacturing careerswales.com