Warehouse and logistics

Warehouses store products to ensure supermarket shelves are kept full and clothing stores receive the new season’s fashion stocks. Many roles involve taking the delivery of goods and packing orders for dispatch. Every job is integral to ensure the whole process runs smoothly.

Typical roles include:

 warehouse operatives

  picker/packers     

  goods-in/goods-out operatives   

   loaders and unloaders 

   flt and vna drivers        

   planners

   management and team leaders

   trainers      

Skills needed to work in these roles include: 

• A thorough approach and a strong attention to detail.
• The ability to work individually and as part of a team.
• Patience and keep calm under pressure.
• Flexible and open to change.
• Excellent verbal communication skills.
• Work well with your hands.
• Thinking and reasoning skills.
• Able to use a computer terminal or hand-held device may be beneficial.

Tasks vary depending on the company and department you work in, but generally include: ​

• Taking delivery of goods and storing them.
• Checking for damaged or missing items.
• Moving stock by hand or with machines.
• Packing and wrapping goods.
• Loading goods for sending.
• Keeping stock records.
• Cleaning the warehouse.

If you are committed to the job, there are many routes you can take for career progression in a warehouse environment. With experience you could become a team leader, shift supervisor or warehouse manager. You could also move into quality control, freight planning or distribution.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing involves creating new products, either from raw materials or from pre-made components. It is a broad field, so there are many job titles that encompass a variety of responsibilities. Typical jobs involve working on the mechanical, physical or chemical transformation of materials to create these new products. Manufacturing plants and factories need more than just people who work on a production line; an efficient operation requires employees in numerous roles, including management and quality assurance. There are hundreds of roles in manufacturing, all differing dependent on the products being made.

Generally, roles fit into one of these categories:

 assemblers and fabricators: putting together pieces of products and assemble them. Most assemblers and fabricators work in manufacturing plants using their hands, tools and machines. 

 brazers, welders, solderers and cutters: using equipment to cut and join metal parts. These positions require an eye for detail, the ability to operate equipment, read blueprints and diagrams.

 machine operators and tool and die makers: setting up, maintaining, and operating computer and/or mechanically-operated machines that are used to create parts for the manufacturing process.

 production managers: overseeing the day-to-day operations at manufacturing plants. They ensure production stays on schedule, hire and manage workers, and fix any production problems.

 quality control inspectors: examining materials and products for hazards, defects, or deviations. They generally work in manufacturing plants inspecting products.

These roles may require qualifications or training, or the company might offer on-the-job training as part of the role.

Skills needed to be successful in a manufacturing environment include:

• Thorough and strong attention to detail.
• Work individually and as part of a team.
• Patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.
• Keep calm and work well under pressure.
• Flexible and open to change.
• Excellent verbal communication skills (including the use of technical terminology if required).
• Work well with hands and maintain accuracy.
• Thinking and reasoning skills.
• Experience using computer applications may be useful in roles where machinery is controlled electronically.

There are many routes you can take for career progression in a manufacturing environment. With experience you could become a team leader, shift supervisor or plant manager. You could also move into quality control, and with further formal education and training you could specialise in different forms of engineering such as electrical and mechanical.

FMCG

The Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry covers the household items that you buy when shopping in the supermarket or a pharmacy such as food items or painkillers. ‘Fast-moving’ implies the items are quick to leave the shelves and tend to be high in volume but low in cost items.

The roles available in FMCG businesses include:

 assembly line operators.

 hygiene staff.

 food production operatives.

 quality assurance.

 packing operatives.

 team leaders/supervisors.

 goods-in/goods-out operatives.

Day to day tasks in an FMCG environment vary depending on the company you work for, the department you work in, and whether the business makes food products only or a range of fast-moving items.

Generally, tasks include:

• Moving stock by hand or with machines.
• Packing and wrapping goods.
• Loading goods for sending.
• Keeping stock records.
• Checking products on the production line for quality.
• Keeping machines supplied with packaging materials and labels.
• Reporting machine faults.
• Adjusting machine settings.
• Cleaning the area of the factory you have been working in.

If you are committed to the job, there are many routes you can take for career progression in an FMCG environment. With experience, you could become a team leader, shift supervisor, or plant manager. You could also move into quality control or move into the distribution department to ensure goods are shipped efficiently to customers.

Other blue-collar​

Warehouse and logistics, manufacturing and FMCG roles are gap personnel’s core sectors, but we also work with clients in other industrial businesses too. Across our network we have roles available for general operative positions including:

 waste management companies.

 industrial cleaners.

 facilities management.

 local councils.