Fact Sheet
Industry
- The aerospace industry has a tradition of high-level skills requirement: over 30% of employees are educated to degree standard or equivalent
- The Northwest accounts for 1/3 of the UK's total aerospace turnover, the most prominent region in the country
- 48,500 employees
- 800 businesses
- Northwest Composites Centre and Aerospace Research Institute (Uni of Manc), Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus, Virtual Engineering Centre
- Home to Europe's largest defence company, BAE Systems, including final assembly line for eurofighter typhoon (Samlesbury)
- 2/5 aerospace jobs are located in the Northwest
- UK aerospace revenues increased by 5.4% in 2009, despite a recession
- Key businesses include BAE, Airbus, Aircelle, Rolls Royce
Training
- Apprenticeships are available from age 16, initially working towards qualifications including NVQs, with opportunities to progress onto other national qualifications such as HNDs, foundations degrees and honours degrees
- Programs don't just offer training in engineering- there are apprenticeships and graduate programs in finance, HR, project management, and procurement, just to name a few
- 12 universities with aerospace related courses in the Northwest
Money
- Apprentices get paid up to £210 per week in some roles
- The average starting salary of an aeronautical engineer is £20,000 to £25,000
- Graduate schemes can offer training salaries of £28, 000
Career development
- Engineering roles may be based around research, design, manufacture, testing, or might be specific to a certain topic, e.g. aerodynamics or composites
- Individuals can achieve professional status as a chartered or technician engineer
- There is room for progression onto project management, procurement, consulting and a host of other options
- In addition to engineering roles there are opportunities for marketing executives, project controllers and other career roles that do not require engineering qualifications
