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Industry Overview - Chemical
The chemical industry is very important to our daily lives because
almost everything we use on a daily basis has some sort of chemical
component. The industry produces materials which help to make
pharmaceuticals, soaps, toiletries and cleaning products. Its products
are essential to such everyday items such as CDs, computers and cars.
Clothing and fashions also rely on dyes and man-made fibres produced by
chemical companies.
The chemical industry is also one of the UK's largest manufacturing
industries with sales of £32 billion. It employs 250,000 people
directly and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in other sectors.
Careers are available relating to the research and manufacture of the
vast range of different chemicals that the industry produces, as well
as in the areas which support the main business of the industry such as
storage, distribution, administration, marketing, personnel and IT.
Research facility
The size and precise nature of a research facility will vary from
company to company but its basic function is to develop new products.
Work in this environment will generally be experimental and innovative
and the atmosphere will be one of discovery and excitement. In the
past, research was the preserve of career scientists, but today
companies look for well-rounded people who can combine good science
backgrounds with excellent communication skills. They seek people who
wish to move beyond the confines of science and play an active role in
all aspects of the company's operations.
Production site
This is where the products are actually made. The range of products is
massive and the sites range from small, one-product operations to vast
multi-product operations. What they all have in common is the
transformation of raw materials into useful chemical products. This
involves highly technical, sometimes hazardous processes in which the
raw materials are altered by such methods as heating, compression and
molecular reconstruction. Because of the potential hazards involved,
these sites are extremely conscious of safety and environmental
concerns and they are tightly controlled and regulated. The operations
are overseen by qualified engineers and carried out by qualified
process operators. Today, much of the work is computer-controlled but
the human element is vital to ensure product quality, environmental
integrity and health and safety.
The chemical industry tends to cluster in favoured locations. Normally
this is because raw materials are readily available, there are good
transport systems nearby, fresh water is easily accessible or perhaps
there is a concentration of customers in the locality. Heaviest
concentrations of chemical industry activity are to be found in the
north west and north east of England, and in Scotland, but chemical
companies can be found operating almost everywhere in the UK.
The chemical industry is looking for people who are interested in it
and enthusiastic about it, and who will be able and willing to work in
a variety of disciplines within their companies rather than for people
who wish to specialise, although there is still a need for some
specialists. The idea of flexibility runs through the development of
employee skills and experiences and is a major component in how
people's careers progress.
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