Employment Opportunities And Career Path In The UK Automotive Sector

Overview of UK Automotive Industry

Question:

Discuss about the Logistics Personal and Organizational Development.

The automotive industry in the United Kingdom is a flourishing industry .In 2014; the number of cars produced in the United Kingdom exceeded 1.5 million cars. Premium and sports cars are primarily manufactured in the United Kingdom with and the main players in the market are Rolls Royce, Land Rover, Jaguar, Lotus, Jaguar, Bentley, Aston Martin, Daimler and many more. Apart from these luxury carmakers, the marketplace in the United Kingdom is dominated by volume car manufacturers which include Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Vauxhall motors. The manufacturers of commercial vehicles in the United Kingdom are Leyland Trucks, Ford, GMM Luton and Alexander Dennis (Bailey & De Propris, 2014).

 In the year 2014, around 147000 people were employed in the supply chain, retail and service industries of the automotive sector in the United Kingdom. There are around 4500 Companies in the sports motor industry in the United Kingdom and around 38, 500 people in the country are employed in this sector.  This sector also has a turnover of around 6 Billion British Pounds. In the year 2013 of September it was announced that at the University of Warwick’s Main Campus, a National Automotive Innovation Campus will be built and the cost of this project will be 100 million GBP. Jaguar Land Rover will contribute around 45 million GBP. The automotive industry in the United Kingdom has contributed substantially to the economy of United Kingdom; turnover of 71.6 billion GBP and value of 18.9 billion GDP has been contributed by the automotive sector.  The employment opportunities provided by the manufacturing sector of the automotive sector of the United Kingdom is 169,000 people.  The automotive sector has indirect employment opportunities for 814000 people in the supply chain, warehousing, logistics and the retail sector (Elmoselhy, 2013).  The United Kingdom is also the home for nearly 30 manufactures in the automotive sector and around 70 models of cars are manufactured by this sector. Around 2500 suppliers of the component parts of the vehicles are present in the United Kingdom (Bailey & De Propris, 2014).

However, the referendum vote of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union will have several impacts on the automotive industry.  The automotive industry is dependent on a global supply chain management system and there is trade across different countries for the supply of component parts of cars as well as the final product. Brexit will adversely impact the automotive sector which will in turn affect the employment and training opportunities for me in this sector (Dhingra et al., 2016).

Employment Opportunities in the UK Automotive Sector

The supply chain industry of the automotive manufacturers in the United Kingdom might have to face severe restrictions on movements of services and goods after Brexit. The companies in the automotive sector may not be completely aware about the status of their employees and the plan for work permit and visas for employees of this sector might have to be revised

The employers in the automotive sector attend career fairs of the Universities and give presentation on campus.  These employers mostly have a closing date and provide offer for jobs in their Companies to students much before the start date, so graduate students should make applications in the final year of study.  Recruitment agencies like the Matchtech and Roevin have vacancies for contract work in the automotive sector in the United Kingdom. The Companies in the automotive sector in the United Kingdom provided graduate training opportunities for students. This graduate training program includes placement in different departments of the organizations and I have to choose a specialist area at the end of the graduate training program. There are Companies in automotive sector in the United Kingdom which focuses on professional development of an individual; they provide structured training including on-the-job training and short courses. The graduate training programs in the United Kingdom in automotive sector include workshops which help to develop personal and business skills for graduate students. These programs help in the development of better decision making skills and skills to work on individual project as well as team projects with other graduates. Longer-term development of career is the outcome of this graduate training program and some automotive Companies in the United Kingdom like the car manufacturer Bentley also has opportunities for international placement in the Group during the graduate training program.

Thus from the above analysis, it is clearly evident that the employment opportunities in the automotive sector is huge in the United Kingdom, Since I have a degree in mechanical engineering , logistics and supply chain management and currently pursue part- time studies in business management, I will have a good employment opportunity in the United Kingdom in the  automotive sector. Though Brexit might have an adverse impact in the employment opportunities of the automotive sector, it is unlikely that it will impact my career prospect in this sector. The analysis clearly reflects that the job opportunities in supply chain and logistics management of the automotive sector in the United Kingdom are plenty which will boost my career prospect in this sector in the United Kingdom.

Impact of Brexit on the UK Automotive Industry

My intended career path will comprise of actively seeking study abroad.  I have completed Nitech in Precision Engineering Aerospace from ITE Balestier from the year 2008 to 2010 from ITE Balestier and Higher Nitec in Mechanical Engineering from the year 2010 to 2012 from ITE College East.  I have pursued Kaplan Global Diploma in Commerce-Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the year 2016 to 2017. I am currently pursuing Bachelors of Business Studies (Honors) in Business Management.  I have worked as an intern in Combustor Airmotvie Services Ptd Ltd from the January to June 2009. In this start-up Company, I had responsibilities like supporting project manager in developing details of work plan and specifications, prepared and developed power point presentations for the team. I also took minutes during meetings of projects and ensured that they have purpose and have clear action items to follow-up. I was also responsible to contribute to the manufacturing process and maintained the shop floor and coordinated activities in the floor. I had the opportunity to participate in different trainings during the project. I worked as a Logistics Assistant Executive in the automotive sector in Integrated Global Network Enterprise.  During my job from July 2014 to August 2016 in this Company, I gained skills to maintain Company database of 2000 automotive car parts and inventory, skills to track movement of import and export car parts. I gained experience to liaise with shipping vendors to process shipment of car parts. I have experience in storing deliverables in the warehouse, tracking them and distributing deliverables, handling the responsibility of processing documentation and receiving goods. I gained skills of maintaining record of inventory in warehouse and order as required and maintenance of warehouse. I also prepared invoices and purchase orders and ensured right allocation of parts of cars to meet delivery schedules. During my previous work experience, I gained the skill of making arrangements for shipping for customers, prioritizing items for dispatch and prepared distribution plans. From my part time study in Northumbria University in Bachelor of Business Studies (Honors) in business management, I have gained knowledge related to management. My long term-career goal is to work in a managerial position in the automotive industry. For this purpose, I am actively seeking for an option to study a master’s level course in management in a foreign university of international repute after completion of my course in bachelor’s degree. I also plan to take up few certification courses which will improve my skills related to technology in modern software to handle the Supply Chain management of automotive industries and will also enable me to analyze data. To work in a managerial position in the automotive sector, I would have to enhance my skills related to numerical aptitude, logical and verbal reasoning. I have developed the opinion that taking up a course in master’s level program in business management and automotive management will enable me to develop the knowledge and skills to work in this area. Also I will learn different modules of operations management which will improve my skills to handle operations in the automotive sector. I believe that the master’s level program will help me to gain an in-depth managerial knowledge which will fit into my long-term career plan to work as a manager in the flourishing automotive industry. Also this program will be holistic in approach and will improve my theoretical as well as practical skills. My master’s level program in business and automotive management will help in my academic development and will also enable me to take a strategic responsibility while working as a manager in automotive sector. I will be exposed to different decision making tools during my graduate program which will help me to work in the managerial level. I need to make critical decisions to work in a managerial position because the business world is highly competitive in the global environment and right decisions taken by managers can affect the profitability of the organization. The automotive industries also focus on environmental sustainability apart from creating profit for shareholders(Leal-Rodríguez et al., 2015).I believe that my masters level program will enhance my knowledge related to sustainability and will enable me to contribute towards the stakeholders of the organization I work for in future as a manager. Creating value for stakeholders is important for organizations and my master’s level program will improve my skills to create better long-term value for stakeholders of business (Zailani et al., 2015).I also plan to take up a master’s level course with a semester abroad which is compulsory in certain universities. Today’s workplace has a diverse workforce and working in a managerial position in future will also mean the ability to manage a workforce which will have people from different gender, race, cultural background and ethnicity. The semester which I will study abroad will improve my skills to work in a multi-cultural environment which is of paramount importance as most of the organizations in the automotive sector have offices in different countries of the world. My master’s level program will enable me to handle operational activities in automotive industry more efficiently and I will be able to collaborate among suppliers and vendors worldwide for my organization. Most of the operations in automotive sector are real-time and centralized (Laperche & Picard, 2013).  I believe that my master’s level program will help me to analyze data and take decisions on a real-time platform for the organization where my long-term goal is to work in a managerial position in automotive sector.

Job Opportunities in Supply Chain and Logistics Management

From my Work Style Personality results, my responses to the questionnaire regarding 5 traits of personality suggest that I am I have a balance personality trait between introversion and extroversion. I like to spend time with others as well as I like to be alone at times. I also have a balance attitude in the easy going and conscientious traits of personality which means that sometimes I prefer to follow a structured approach to work and at times I prefer to adapt to a more open work structure to compensate for my preference.  I have a balance between being emotionally stable and emotionally calm. My responses to WPQ indicate that I prefer rules and procedures and simplicity at work and respect traditions. Also I am pragmatic in nature. So I am more conventional than open-minded. I also have a self-focussed personality trait and prefer to focus on the task at hand rather than focusing on empathizing with others. In my test for logical reasoning I had an average score of 41 percentile. I attempted 14 out of 14 questions in this test and I have achieved correct results for 6 questions which suggest that my accuracy in the logical reasoning test is 42% while my speed is 100%. For most organizations, cut-off in logical reasoning is as low as 30 percentile to avoid biases or preference towards a particular group. In my test for abstract reasoning, I obtained 6^th percentile, my score is improvable. I need to improve my mathematical knowledge and reasoning skill while improving the skill. In my verbal numerical ability, I have scored 1 percentile which suggests that I need to improve my English Literacy and reasoning skills.  However, these tests depend on various environmental conditions.

The courses in Master’s level program in automotive management from reputed Universities generally have structures and modules related to business model innovation, brand management, operations management, courses related to business process innovation in information management and global automotive value chain, distribution channels management, dealership management supply chain design and global sourcing. The higher level masters program will enhance my skills and knowledge about digital transformation that has been adopted in automotive industry, operations management and courses related to automotive finance. These courses will also improve my personal skills like leadership skills and personality traits. I will learn to work under pressure and completion that the automobile industry is subjected to and will learn to cope with stress, manage time and self and work in teams. Some of the Universities I plan to study my Master’s level program in the United Kingdom are Loughborough University, Regent’s University London, University of Sunderland, Oxford Brookes University, University of Buckingham, University of Warwick and University of Hertfordshire. After studying the master’s level program, my long term plan is to find a job in managerial position in automotive sector with reputed companies like Jaguar Land Rover, Honda and Bentley.

Graduate Training Programs in the UK Automotive Sector

My master’s level program will help me to acquire and develop skills which are mandatory to sustain work pressure and deliver high performance in a managerial position in automotive industry and this plan for higher studies also fit into my long term career plan of working with reputed companies in automotive sector. The global supply chain is managed in an integrated and centralized manner and it is of paramount importance for me to gain in-depth knowledge related to global supply chain (Estampe et al., 2013).  In this world of globalization, I might have to work in different countries across the globe during my career span and so my master’s level program will help me to acquire skills to understand the culture and laws of different countries. It is extremely important to effectively communicate while working in a global company. So the master’s level program in automotive management will also enhance my skills to negotiate effectively and communicate efficiently with stakeholders of my organization like vendors, dealers and employees of the Company where I will work in future.  The culture of different countries across the globe varies from one another and thus the negotiation styles and communication techniques also differ (Oke, 2013). Technology constantly upgrades and modern organizations adopt the strategy of innovation to sustain competition and to enhance performance in the global world. So organizations require managers with technological skills (Cabigiosu, Zirpoli & Camuffo, 2013). I believe that my master’s level program will enhance my technological skills and these skills are required to be updated continuously to evolve my career opportunities as a competent manager. I have the opinion that the master’s level program will help me in upgrading my skills so that I can find a job in good companies in the automotive sector in the United Kingdom

Conclusion

Based on the results of the tests, I would like to improve my skill of abstract reasoning, logical reasoning as well as verbal numerical ability. I have experience in working as a Supply Chain Management Executive in Automotive sector. I will also improve my skills in modern technologies related to supply chain management, for instance, most of the organizations in the automotive sector have embraced automation and robotics. The organizations adopt modern tools in supply chain management like cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). I would like to improve my software related skills to handle modern technology. Organizations focus on real-time supply chain management to avoid the Bull Whip effect in the Supply chain and to maintain optimum inventory, Just-in-Time technology is adopted by most organizations (Govindan, Soleimani & Kannan, 2015).            Status of order related information is fed in cloud based solutions by manufacturers to increase visibility of customers.  I will improve my technological skills by taking up more certification courses in modern technology while continuing my higher studies. Also, organizations manage big data and data analysis is very important for most organizations. To analyze basic data will be the criteria for most organizations to appoint me as a manger of Supply Chain Management in the automotive sector. I will like to improve my verbal reasoning and both abstract and logical reasoning skill set because these skills are very important for future job opportunities in the managerial position. I can improve these skills by practicing more tests online and taking help of online study materials which I plan to do form now in my leisure time. Also, as I am seeking a masters degree course in management after completion of my bachelor’s course, I will get the opportunity to develop more knowledge and skills related to management which will help me secure a managerial position in the automotive sector in future. My previous job for two years with Global Network Enterprise as a Logistics Assistant Executive has already provided me with the opportunities to gain basic skills related to Supply Chain management, inventory management and logistics management. I strongly contemplate on the fact that my masters’ level program in management as well as certification courses in modern technology related to logistics and supply chain management will help me to gain the knowledge and skills to work in a managerial position in near future in the automotive sector. Also, I have skills in SAP and e-procurement but I will like to enhance these skills more during my master’s level program.

References

Bailey, D., & De Propris, L. (2014). Manufacturing reshoring and its limits: the UK automotive case. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 7(3), 379-395.

Cabigiosu, A., Zirpoli, F., & Camuffo, A. (2013). Modularity, interfaces definition and the integration of external sources of innovation in the automotive industry. Research Policy, 42(3), 662-675.

Dhingra, S., Ottaviano, G., Sampson, T., & Van Reenen, J. (2016). The impact of Brexit on foreign investment in the UK. BREXIT 2016, 24.

Elmoselhy, S. A. (2013). Hybrid lean–agile manufacturing system technical facet, in automotive sector. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 32(4), 598-619.

Estampe, D., Lamouri, S., Paris, J. L., & Brahim-Djelloul, S. (2013). A framework for analysing supply chain performance evaluation models. International Journal of Production Economics, 142(2), 247-258.

Govindan, K., Soleimani, H., & Kannan, D. (2015). Reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chain: A comprehensive review to explore the future. European Journal of Operational Research, 240(3), 603-626.

Laperche, B., & Picard, F. (2013). Environmental constraints, Product-Service Systems development and impacts on innovation management: learning from manufacturing firms in the French context. Journal of Cleaner Production, 53, 118-128.

Leal-Rodríguez, A. L., Eldridge, S., Roldán, J. L., Leal-Millán, A. G., & Ortega-Gutiérrez, J. (2015). Organizational unlearning, innovation outcomes, and performance: The moderating effect of firm size. Journal of Business Research, 68(4), 803-809.

Oke, A. (2013). Linking manufacturing flexibility to innovation performance in manufacturing plants. International Journal of Production Economics, 143(2), 242-247.

Zailani, S., Govindan, K., Iranmanesh, M., Shaharudin, M. R., & Chong, Y. S. (2015). Green innovation adoption in automotive supply chain: the Malaysian case. Journal of Cleaner Production, 108, 1115-1122.