Medical
Staffordshire and the Medical industry
Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent is home to a growing number of leading medical and healthcare technology companies, including:
The UK picture
The Medical Technology industry is highly innovative. Innovation means that medical devices constantly need to be developed and improved therefore it is important that the sector is able to recruit talented people with a high level of technical, problem-solving and design skills.
This sector is made up of a wide range of careers and contains the following sub-sectors
- Orthopaedics
- Regenerative medicine
- Surgical instrumentation
- Wound management
- Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals
- Assistive technologies
The sector is becoming wider and an increasing number of skills from related areas are required to enable healthcare scientists to work together across sector boundaries.
There is a lot of overlap between this sector and other Advanced Manufacturing sectors due to the engineering, design and manufacturing processes involved. There is also some overlap with the creative and digital technologies sector, especially in IT.
Qualifications and routes
This sector requires highly specialised skills and many jobs require qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematical subjects. There are many options available; a combination of learning and experience is also a good way for your child to increase their knowledge and build their confidence within the sector.
Routes include:
Key skills for the sector
Engineering and manufacturing skills are extremely important and within these, specific skills include:
- Computer aided design (CAD)
- Computer numerical control (CNC)
- Machining
- Milling and turning
- IT and specialist software development
Alongside these skills, the qualifications employers may seek include foundation degrees, Higher National Diploma and Level 3 NVQs and good communication skills or ‘people skills’ for those working in support services.
Foreign language skills are also useful in this sector because engineers can be required to work within global teams across worldwide companies.
The sector relies on graduate intake for specialist technical skills in engineering, IT and software development. apprenticeships are also an import source of recruits and are viewed favourably by businesses.
Types of jobs in this sector
Click on the links below to see the National Careers Services job profile with details of what’s involved, hours, salary, and entry requirements or search at National Careers Service.