Engineering and manufacturing
Engineers are creative and hands on. They design, create, test and improve all sorts of products and processes. From buildings in your local community to railways and aircrafts – bring creations to life as an engineer.

The impact you could make
- Solving the world’s upcoming problems using creative and problem solving skills.
- Responding to natural disasters, improving cyber security and developing clean energy sources.
- Designing driverless vehicles and spacecrafts for future tourists.
The opportunities within engineering and manufacturing
There are many diverse opportunities from aerospace and pharmaceuticals to food and fast-moving consumer goods production. This industry thrives on a global scale, so you may get to travel all around the world during your career.
Employment
There are 150,400 people currently working in engineering and 30,000 people in other manufacturing roles.
Job availability
Over 7,500 jobs will be created between 2021 and 2024 in Scotland.
Job diversity
There are currently 36,928 Modern Apprentices working within engineering in Scotland.
*Sector Skills Assessment 2021
Manufacturing was an area that I wasn't exposed to at all and knew nothing about but since working at Mersen and with the Graduate Apprenticeship I've been able to learn so much more about the industry and how it works.
Robyn
Engineering: Design and Manufacture Graduate Apprentice, Mersen
Explore engineering jobs
We’ve pulled out some of the popular engineering jobs for you to explore.
Some things you may not know about engineering and manufacturing
Scotland designs and builds more nano satellites than anywhere else in Europe.
Scottish Engineers are leading the world in harnessing tidal power.
The Scottish Space industry is growing rapidly and will need more than 3,000 Engineers in the next 10 years as Scotland prepares for the first European space launch from home soil.
*Scottish Space Strategy
What subjects to take
We’ve pulled together some examples of subjects that could be useful for getting into a career in engineering and manufacturing.
- Computing
- Physics
- Engineering FA
- English
- Design & Manufacture
- Maths
For most jobs, you might not need specific subjects. If your school does not provide all of these subjects or you're just unsure — do not worry. There are many more subjects you can explore by using the Option Choices tool or speaking to your careers adviser in your school.
What routes you can take
There are different options you can choose from after school. We’ve pulled together some of them to help you decide which is best for you.
Engineering and manufacturing industry partners
Discover some of the partners within engineering and find out how they’re contributing to the industry.

Scottish Engineering
Scottish Engineering supports and connects the Scottish industry to the resources they need to thrive.

ADS Scotland
ADS Scotland represents and supports more than 1,100 UK businesses operating in aerospace, defence, security and space sectors.

Space Network Scotland
Find out all the latest news within the space industry in Scotland.