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Best of British recruitment
The range of careers in the UK aerospace industry is a graduate's dream, says Justine East
A staggering 120,000 people are directly employed by the British aerospace industry and contrary to popular opinion, careers are far more wide-ranging than engineering and technical posts. "While these form a huge number of roles and include many varied and exciting opportunities, the industry also offers the kind of careers you'd find in any sector - such as finance, human resources, logistics, commerce, law and marketing," says Jonathan Cook, who looks after skills and people management at the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC).
A staggering 120,000 people are directly employed by the British aerospace industry and contrary to popular opinion, careers are far more wide-ranging than engineering and technical posts. "While these form a huge number of roles and include many varied and exciting opportunities, the industry also offers the kind of careers you'd find in any sector - such as finance, human resources, logistics, commerce, law and marketing," says Jonathan Cook, who looks after skills and people management at the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC).
Even qualified professionals such as doctors are needed by organisations like the Royal Air Force, where they undertake activities such as studying the physical effects of flying combat aircraft on human performance. Meanwhile, university academics and researchers are required by employers in the space industry where they do things such as analyse data returned from satellites in order to understand the changes that are taking place in our environment.
Then there are people needed to develop policies for regulatory authorities such as the Civil Aviation Authority, government departments and agencies. In addition, very specific careers are available within sub-sectors of aerospace such as space and aviation - with examples including climate physicists and airline pilots.
Rosalind Azouzi, learning and development manager at the Royal Aeronautical Society, adds that there are a growing number of project management roles available, as well as people working in sales - for example in bid management, tendering and contracts. "With more than 1,500 aerospace employers in the UK, it's hard to think of a career that doesn't exist somewhere," she says.
So what attracts people to aerospace? Aside from being a sector that continually stretches the limits of achievement with cutting-edge technology, many of the employers - notably the big ones - offer some of the best training schemes around, both for school leavers and graduates. "The sector pays higher salaries than most manufacturing sectors," adds Jonathan Cook. "And it's a very complex and fast-changing industry, offering fascinating opportunities for people in roles like HR and finance."
There are also plenty of opportunities to work abroad, with more people employed overseas than in any other aerospace nation.
In terms of recruitment, the industry is currently strong, Cook says. "The apprenticeship route continues to be very important to employers and certainly doesn't stop people becoming professional engineers. Graduates are also sought after and most companies have realised that even when the market is slower, it's not worth cutting back in this area of recruitment. We need a continual flow."
Gerard Leahy of Rolls-Royce reports that over 30 per cent of people in the aerospace industry are graduates. "Here at Rolls-Royce, we certainly place an emphasis on attracting university leavers into all sorts of roles," he says.
Having entered Rolls-Royce on the graduate training scheme, Braky Zewde is now a performance engineer in aeronautics. "The graduate scheme was great because you work in so many different departments, getting to understand how they all fit together and building up a network of contacts," he says. "My job now involves the design of and supervising the testing of jet engines. It's a very active job in a dynamic environment."
As the largest graduate recruiter in the engineering industry, BAE Systems provides even more opportunities, as well as a specific scheme for top graduates, whom they deem to be the potential leaders of the company.
Irrespective of BAE employees' particular roles, or how they entered the company, they tend to get a real buzz from the kind of projects they're involved in, says Richard Hammer, education and partnerships director. "Currently, there's the Eurofighter, the next generation fighter for the Royal Air Force, and the Hawk, the leading-edge plane that the Red Arrows use."
Recruitment agencies and headhunters report that business is booming. "I'd say we are almost back to a pre-9/11 picture when it comes to recruitment," says Richard Lewis, managing director of Marlborough bvba, the aviation executive search firm.
After 2001, aviation companies had the chance to get rid of underperformers and they have since started replacing them with brighter and better people, Lewis says. "In fact, people are getting to middle and senior management far quicker than ever. It's no longer unusual to reach middle management before you're 30 and I'm working with one company where we're looking for a middle manager who is expected to reach senior management within 12 months. That rate of development has been unheard of before."
The British space industry is also offering a growing number of exciting opportunities, according to Martin Shelley, assistant director of industry and education at the British National Space Centre (BNSC). "Space is unquestionably a growth market," he says. "We already depend massively on space in ways that most people don't realise - for example through the satellites the British have developed, which enable everything from internet services to digital audio radio."
Satellite instruments are also used to measure pollution and predict the causes of natural disasters, as well as providing vital services for the oil exploration industry, as well as accurate weather maps.
The UK's space sector employs over 15,000 people, Shelley says, ranging from experts in the electrical and mechanical engineering fields to physicists, mathematicians, machinists and other technicians. And as a spokesperson for the UK's biggest space employer VEGA points out: "There are also rewarding prospects in administration, communications, finance, sales and marketing."
Carl Warren was initially attracted into a career in space when he first saw Star Trek. "My passion for mathematics and physics fuelled this interest," he says. Having assumed that space was something the Americans did, he was pleasantly surprised when he discovered the breadth of career opportunities within the British space industry. Since graduating with a degree in aerospace engineering with astronautics, he has worked on many exciting missions including the Epicolombo mission to Mercury.
Regardless of your particular role within the aerospace industry, you'll need a sense of wanting to work for something that is essential, valuable and long-term, says Jonathan Cook. In fact, one of the problems in promoting the aerospace industry as a "brand" is that the roles are so diverse, he admits. "The scope and range of work is so broad that whatever discipline or interest one has, it is likely that the aerospace sector can offer a career path to suit it."
A staggering 120,000 people are directly employed by the British aerospace industry and contrary to popular opinion, careers are far more wide-ranging than engineering and technical posts. "While these form a huge number of roles and include many varied and exciting opportunities, the industry also offers the kind of careers you'd find in any sector - such as finance, human resources, logistics, commerce, law and marketing," says Jonathan Cook, who looks after skills and people management at the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC).
A staggering 120,000 people are directly employed by the British aerospace industry and contrary to popular opinion, careers are far more wide-ranging than engineering and technical posts. "While these form a huge number of roles and include many varied and exciting opportunities, the industry also offers the kind of careers you'd find in any sector - such as finance, human resources, logistics, commerce, law and marketing," says Jonathan Cook, who looks after skills and people management at the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC).
Even qualified professionals such as doctors are needed by organisations like the Royal Air Force, where they undertake activities such as studying the physical effects of flying combat aircraft on human performance. Meanwhile, university academics and researchers are required by employers in the space industry where they do things such as analyse data returned from satellites in order to understand the changes that are taking place in our environment.
Then there are people needed to develop policies for regulatory authorities such as the Civil Aviation Authority, government departments and agencies. In addition, very specific careers are available within sub-sectors of aerospace such as space and aviation - with examples including climate physicists and airline pilots.
Rosalind Azouzi, learning and development manager at the Royal Aeronautical Society, adds that there are a growing number of project management roles available, as well as people working in sales - for example in bid management, tendering and contracts. "With more than 1,500 aerospace employers in the UK, it's hard to think of a career that doesn't exist somewhere," she says.
So what attracts people to aerospace? Aside from being a sector that continually stretches the limits of achievement with cutting-edge technology, many of the employers - notably the big ones - offer some of the best training schemes around, both for school leavers and graduates. "The sector pays higher salaries than most manufacturing sectors," adds Jonathan Cook. "And it's a very complex and fast-changing industry, offering fascinating opportunities for people in roles like HR and finance."
There are also plenty of opportunities to work abroad, with more people employed overseas than in any other aerospace nation.
In terms of recruitment, the industry is currently strong, Cook says. "The apprenticeship route continues to be very important to employers and certainly doesn't stop people becoming professional engineers. Graduates are also sought after and most companies have realised that even when the market is slower, it's not worth cutting back in this area of recruitment. We need a continual flow."
Gerard Leahy of Rolls-Royce reports that over 30 per cent of people in the aerospace industry are graduates. "Here at Rolls-Royce, we certainly place an emphasis on attracting university leavers into all sorts of roles," he says.
Having entered Rolls-Royce on the graduate training scheme, Braky Zewde is now a performance engineer in aeronautics. "The graduate scheme was great because you work in so many different departments, getting to understand how they all fit together and building up a network of contacts," he says. "My job now involves the design of and supervising the testing of jet engines. It's a very active job in a dynamic environment."
As the largest graduate recruiter in the engineering industry, BAE Systems provides even more opportunities, as well as a specific scheme for top graduates, whom they deem to be the potential leaders of the company.
Irrespective of BAE employees' particular roles, or how they entered the company, they tend to get a real buzz from the kind of projects they're involved in, says Richard Hammer, education and partnerships director. "Currently, there's the Eurofighter, the next generation fighter for the Royal Air Force, and the Hawk, the leading-edge plane that the Red Arrows use."
Recruitment agencies and headhunters report that business is booming. "I'd say we are almost back to a pre-9/11 picture when it comes to recruitment," says Richard Lewis, managing director of Marlborough bvba, the aviation executive search firm.
After 2001, aviation companies had the chance to get rid of underperformers and they have since started replacing them with brighter and better people, Lewis says. "In fact, people are getting to middle and senior management far quicker than ever. It's no longer unusual to reach middle management before you're 30 and I'm working with one company where we're looking for a middle manager who is expected to reach senior management within 12 months. That rate of development has been unheard of before."
The British space industry is also offering a growing number of exciting opportunities, according to Martin Shelley, assistant director of industry and education at the British National Space Centre (BNSC). "Space is unquestionably a growth market," he says. "We already depend massively on space in ways that most people don't realise - for example through the satellites the British have developed, which enable everything from internet services to digital audio radio."
Satellite instruments are also used to measure pollution and predict the causes of natural disasters, as well as providing vital services for the oil exploration industry, as well as accurate weather maps.
The UK's space sector employs over 15,000 people, Shelley says, ranging from experts in the electrical and mechanical engineering fields to physicists, mathematicians, machinists and other technicians. And as a spokesperson for the UK's biggest space employer VEGA points out: "There are also rewarding prospects in administration, communications, finance, sales and marketing."
Carl Warren was initially attracted into a career in space when he first saw Star Trek. "My passion for mathematics and physics fuelled this interest," he says. Having assumed that space was something the Americans did, he was pleasantly surprised when he discovered the breadth of career opportunities within the British space industry. Since graduating with a degree in aerospace engineering with astronautics, he has worked on many exciting missions including the Epicolombo mission to Mercury.
Regardless of your particular role within the aerospace industry, you'll need a sense of wanting to work for something that is essential, valuable and long-term, says Jonathan Cook. In fact, one of the problems in promoting the aerospace industry as a "brand" is that the roles are so diverse, he admits. "The scope and range of work is so broad that whatever discipline or interest one has, it is likely that the aerospace sector can offer a career path to suit it."
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