Manufacturing invents and creates the products that people need and want. A vibrant sector is increasingly recognised as an essential foundation for a solid, growing economy.
Manufacturing is constantly generating new opportunities for interesting career prospects- Matthias Fauser
We need to challenge and overcome a negative perception that ours is an economy where manufacturing activity has a limited future. Negative stereotypes of dead-end careers in unclean, repetitive environments are mistaken and need to be eradicated. There are lots of well-paying careers in many areas of manufacturing and students have the right to know that they can join the people who are designing and creating tomorrow’s products, and which ultimately shape the world we live in.
It is as easy to overlook – as it is to realise – that manufacturing is part of our lives already. Manufacturing gives us our toys, from the plastic building blocks and action figures which captured our imagination to the cars we drive, and all the appliances and electronic gadgets in our homes and offices. Manufacturing puts microwaves in our kitchens and gives us shoes and jeans. It gives us medicinal products and surgical instruments which save lives, as well as CDs in the form of a simple piece of injection-moulded plastic.
It is fascinating how advances in manufacturing are becoming increasingly indivisible from technology and software developments. A perfect example is the development of the MP3 codec by teams of scientists and engineers from different organisations which formed the Moving Picture Experts Group. Their invention in turn led to the first commercial MP3 players and started a revolution in the music industry. This company produced other codecs which have become integral parts of portable music players, PCs and smartphones.
Smartphone companies are an interesting story in today’s manufacturing scenario. Their remarkable products define new ways of connectivity, entertainment and media access. Although they are essentially device manufacturers, the success of their products hinges on design, branding and multi-usability, as well as their capacity to be a platform or gateway for diverse media and services, delivering unique extraordinary value.
The manufacturing world is also picking up an impressive pace of change as developments in the fields of ICT tools and advanced robotics are applied to improve the manufacturing process. These developments are requiring increasing expertise in the form of robotic engineers, who are involved in the design, programming and operation of such tools and developing new applications.
Our educational system should not seek to churn out qualifications according to the flavour of the month. Students should be well informed and professionally guided on all possibilities, including entry level requirements for certain categories of employment and the route for onward career progression. They should be given clear indications on remuneration in the different scales of manufacturing careers and on other advantages such as international exposure and lifelong learning possibilities. The manufacturing industry is in competition for resources with other sectors, which may be wrongly perceived by young people as offering ‘cleaner’ and more socially desirable work environments. The appropriate linkage between secondary schools students, guidance teachers and industrial operators must be created to give manufacturing the fair recognition as a sustainable proposition for young people.
Students need well-informed guidance experts to help them weigh their options and determine their future. Students who have good numerical ability or show an inclination towards problem-solving, mechanical and analytical reasoning, should have manufacturing at the top of their list to consider. Subjects like maths and science, or geometry and physics, are the areas of study which will give them the necessary tools to make it especially in advanced manufacturing. Manufacturers also look for a range of skills like teamwork, organisation, logical and critical thinking, project management and communication.
Productivity and financial compensation in manufacturing is not necessarily a function of academic achievement. All over the world, this sector has provided people with low levels of education with the opportunity to make a good living. The reality is that there is always going to be a significant section of the population which does not advance beyond secondary education. An economy with reduced manufacturing activity tends to generate a higher order of income inequality.
Considering Malta’s limited resources, the key to our economic success is in nurturing and effectively employing the right mix of skills and talent. If we fail to attract enough young people into manufacturing, the sector risks losing its potential to grow due to an ageing work force.
The Malta Chamber is committed to work with the Government and education institutions to keep our manufacturing businesses competitive on a global level by developing the necessary skills base. The industry can contribute in giving exposure of manufacturing to career-guidance professionals. For such partnerships to be effective, a government-led national manufacturing strategy is needed to ensure the deserved priority is given.
We owe it to our young people to support them in seizing their chance at shaping manufacturing careers. Manufacturing is constantly evolving, expanding and progressing, generating new opportunities for interesting career prospects. Career options in industry include research, design, testing, marketing, finance, human resources, process development, quality assurance, supply chain logistics, maintenance and repair, health and safety and countless more ancillary service. Career opportunities in manufacturing are limitless and hugely rewarding.
Matthias Fauser is chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry’s Manufacturing Economic Group.