What about Aerospace & Defence?

It was in the UK that Samuel Franklin Cody made the world's first officially-recognised powered flight. This was in 1908 at Farnborough, Hampshire. Since then, a century-long history of innovation and creativity has allowed the UK aerospace and defence industry to become one of the most successful manufacturing sectors in the world.

With a turnover in excess of £22 billion, the sector employs more than 124,000 people in the UK. It also makes its presence felt abroad, generating over £15 billion of export sales in 2005. Reflecting the industry’s success, aerospace and defence engineers take home an average of £33,000.

In this fast-paced industry, technological innovation is crucial. In 2005, the aerospace and defence sector invested £2.7 billion in R&D, making its research budget one of the fastest growing in the UK.
Add to this the number of science, engineering and technology jobs in the military and you can begin to see why this is an exciting industry to work in.

Typical Activities

An unrivalled history of being at the forefront of defence technology has generated a number of interrelated jobs and a particularly strong assortment of activities:

Designing and integrating complex systems within aircraft and spacecraft
Maintaining flight readiness of commercial and military aircraft
Developing more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft
Devising telecommunications and navigation equipment for spacecraft
Designing computer aided flight tracking systems
Developing a range of equipment allowing pilots to plan flight routes

Getting in

So who is the aerospace industry looking to employ? The simple answer is anyone with an interest and an aptitude in science, engineering or technology. There are hundreds of opportunities available at all levels.

military helicopter © Photographer: Mark Atkins | Agency: Dreamstime.com

You can enter the industry via an apprenticeship scheme, where you can gain qualifications and earn a wage at the same time. Alternatively, you could follow in the footsteps of a third of the sector’s employees and access the profession with a university degree. Typical degrees advantageous to a career in aerospace and defence include mechanical engineering, physics, materials science, mathematics, computer science and of course specialised aerospace engineering courses.

According to John Bristow, the National Careers and Education Manager at SEMTA, "The aerospace and defence sector is no different in its requirements from the civilian sector; it requires people with good understanding of science, electronics, mechanics. It needs people from all areas."

All this means that if you are thinking of a job in aerospace or defence industry, then your stock at the moment is extremely high.

Typical Employers

The aerospace and defence sector is extremely diversified in the UK. As an industry it offers unparalleled employment opportunities across a wide range of fields; notably in electronics, engineering, material science, and in information and communication technology. Key employers include: