Manufacturing
The Manufacturing career cluster prepares learners for careers in planning, managing and performing the processing of materials into intermediate or final products. Careers also include related professional and technical support activities such as production planning and control, maintenance and manufacturing/process engineering.
This career cluster is divided into six pathways:
- Production
- Maintenance, Installation and Repair
- Health, Safety & Environmental Assurance
- Logistics Inventory Control
- Manufacturing Production Process Development
- Quality Assurance
Production
People with careers in production work on the shop floor making parts or assembling them. They work with machines, making or assembling electronic parts, constructing or assembling modular housing, performing welding jobs, or printing various materials.
Sample occupations include:
- Assemblers
- Automated Manufacturing Technicians
- Bookbinders
- Calibration Technicians
- Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers
- Extruding and Drawing Machine Operators
- Machine Operators
- Medical Appliance Makers
- Tool and Die Makers
Maintenance, Installation and Repair
People with careers in this pathway perform preventive maintenance procedures on machines, tools and equipment. These are performed routinely and on a regular basis. They also troubleshoot and repair electrical, electronic and mechanical systems. This will include mechanical repair as well as using computer-based inventory control systems, retrieving information histories on each machines from computer records, and recording repair activities on the system to keep accurate records of repairs performed on each machine.
Sample occupations include:
- Biomedical Equipment Technicians
- Communication System Installers/Repairers
- Computer Installers/Repairers
- Instrument Control Technicians
- Job/Fixture Designers
- Laser Systems Technicians
- Meter Installers/ Repairers
- Security System Installers/Repairers
Health, Safety and Environmental Assurance
Employees in Health, Safety and Environmental Assurance ensure that the equipment is being used safely in the workplace; plan for safety in new production processes; conduct health, safety and/or environmental incident and hazard investigations; conduct preventive health, safety and/or environmental incident and hazard inspections; and implement health, safety and/or environmental programs, projects, policies or procedures. They may train workers in health, safety and/or environmental issues and provide event documentation.
Sample occupations include:
- Occupational Health and Safety Specialist
- Safety Engineer
Logistics Inventory Control
People with careers in Logistics and Inventory Control work with an inventory of raw materials and finished parts They move raw materials to the production line, unload trucks with raw materials, wrap pallets of finished products for shipment, and communicate with traffic managers.
Sample occupations include:
- Dispatcher
- Logistician
- Materials Handler
- Shipping and Receiving Clerk
Manufacturing Production Process Development
Process Development is responsible for product design and design of the manufacturing process. They work with customers to ensure the manufacturing process produces a product that meets or exceeds customer expectations. They also monitor the manufacturing process and the materials used to manufacture the product.
Sample occupations include:
- Electro-Mechanical Technician
- Industrial Engineer
- Industrial Engineering Technician
- Manufacturing Systems Engineer
- Millwright
- Network Designer
- Precision Inspector, Tester, or Grader
- Production Manager
- Programmer
- SPC (Statistical Process Control) Coordinator
Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance employees assure that standards and procedures are adhered to and that delivered products or services meet performance requirements. They may have responsibility for monitoring and maintaining the quality of parts and manufacturing processes. This could include identifying the raw product to ensure it meets specifications, as well as measuring or otherwise testing products and parts to ensure they meet required customer specifications.
Sample occupations include:
- Calibration Technician
- Precision Inspector, Tester, or Grader
- Quality Control Technician
- SPC (Statistical Process Control) Coordinator