Manufacturer
What the work is
Plans, organises, directs, controls and coordinates the operations of a manufacturing establishment.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Identifies business opportunities, devises new manufacturing processes, and determines products to be manufactured
- Develops business plans and implements operational, marketing and pricing decisions
- Manages and oversees the allocation of resources, including materials, equipment and personnel
- Directs the activities of production, warehousing, distribution and other operating units
- Researches and implements regulatory and statutory requirements
- Oversees quality control systems for manufacturing, waste disposal, delivery and other procedures
- Coordinates orders for raw materials, supplies and equipment, and arranges packaging, delivery and wholesaling of products
- Oversees the provision of quotes for the manufacture of goods and arranges contracts with customers
- May devise and oversee the implementation of production run schedules
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a small family-owned factory that makes steel gates, fences and balustrades. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- An order leaves the dock on time and exactly as the customer drew it
- A new machine pays for itself faster than you expected
- Your longest-serving welder teaches a trainee a trick he has never shown anyone else
Hard days
- The price of steel jumps and an order you quoted last month now loses money
- A machine breaks down the day before a big delivery
- Deciding whether to take on a large customer who might be slow to pay
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 132131, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.