What is an Engineering Manufacturing Technician?

How an Engineering Manufacturing Technician makes a difference

A diverse range of industries – including automotive, aerospace, marine, chemical processing and materials manufacturing – use complex engineering, multiple parts, and detailed manufacturing processes to deliver their products.

Engineers who lead product development and manufacturing need support with the production and testing of new and existing products, and with processes and procedures to make sure customer specifications are met. You could be the technician who ensures efficient and effective manufacturing, contributing to the production of greener vehicles, space travel or innovative materials.

The type of work an Engineering Manufacturing Technician will do

Gathering and analysing information and data from a range of sources
Updating technical documentation on quality, reliability and production schedules
Analysing or producing documents that explain how a product must be designed, manufactured, maintained and transported
Meeting with engineering and manufacturing teams
Maintaining quality and safety standards
Overseeing delivery to customers to hit agreed schedules
Contributing to discussion on how processes and procedures can be improved

Useful skills

Attention to detail

Skills & attributes

Useful skills

Problem solving

Skills & attributes

Useful skills

Instructing others

Skills & attributes

Useful skills

Critical thinking

Skills & attributes

What you can bring to the Engineering Manufacturing Technician role

An interest in engineering and how large-scale products are manufactured.

The confidence to use a range of tools and techniques to solve problems and support your decision-making.

An organised approach to your work and the skill to capture details accurately.

What you can bring to the Engineering Manufacturing Technician role

The flexibility to adapt to different situations and work with a range of clients, colleagues and suppliers.

A skill for making difficult things easy to understand by other people.

An aptitude for thinking carefully about a subject or idea, asking questions and acting upon what you’ve learned.

What you can bring to the Engineering Manufacturing Technician role

This role could also be right for you if you have any of the following interests:

- cars, trains and planes

- building, making and fixing things

- exploring problems and finding answer

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*according to ONS

Future career opportunities for an Engineering Manufacturing Technician

As you gain experience supporting engineers, you will become involved in the development and introduction of new products or product modifications. You may eventually lead a team that gathers the data and analysis to support design.

You could decide you want to become an engineer yourself and build on your technician skills to complete the right training and courses. Your technician, engineering and manufacturing skills will be transferrable to multiple industries.

How to become an Engineering Manufacturing Technician

There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.

But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:

Options available after GCSEs:

A T-level in Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing.
A T-level in Maintenance, Installation and Repair for Engineering and Manufacturing.
A T-level in Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing and Control.

More options available after that:

A Higher Technical Qualification such as a Higher National Certificate in Manufacturing Engineering for England.
An apprenticeship as an Engineering Manufacturing Technician.

Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.

A little more about the role

Exciting features...

Research indicates that manufacturers and their suppliers need to recruit approximately 124,000 engineers and technicians every year. You will probably spend some of your time in a manufacturing plant and the rest in an office, liaising with internal colleagues and working directly with clients to understand their needs. You’ll also collaborate with suppliers to develop solutions to manufacturing challenges.

Other job titles...

This role can also be known by some other job titles including:

Costing Engineer
Installation Engineer
Manufacturing Quality Engineer
Manufacturing Procurement Engineer
Process Engineer
Production Support Engineer
Quality Engineer
Test and Commissioning Engineer