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- Other manufacturing workers: skills opportunities and challenges (2023 update)
Other manufacturing workers: skills opportunities and challenges (2023 update)
Summary
European manufacturing accounted in 2021 for more than 16 per cent of gross value added in the EU economy. In the same year, other manufacturing workers, who mainly work in the manufacturing sector, accounted for around 2 per cent of the entire employment in the EU. These workers will be among those who will be called to achieve the European Green Deal’s ambitions on rates of repair and circular product development (among which textiles). They are engaged in, among others, treating and processing agricultural and fisheries raw materials into food and other products, producing and repairing wood, textiles, fur, and leather products. To do so, they use hand-powered and other related tools and equipment. Jobs within this group include butchers, fishmongers, bakers, product tasters, wood treaters, furniture finishers and restorers, woodturners, tailors, dressmakers, clothing patternmakers, and also underwater divers, and product quality inspectors.
Key facts
- Around 3.8 million people were employed as other manufacturing workers in 2022, which accounted for almost 2 per cent of the overall EU employment in 2022.
- Between 2012 and 2022 employment for other manufacturing workers declined slightly. Over the same period, employment across all occupations in the EU had increased by almost 8 per cent.
- Employment remained stable between 2012 and 2019.
- Between 2019 and 2020, when the EU experienced economic lockdowns, 149 thousand other manufacturing worker jobs were lost. Employment declined further in the following year and by the end of 2022, it was 164 thousand workers short of the pre Covid-19 level.
- Most of the other manufacturing workers (i.e. 72 per cent in 2021) are employed in the manufacturing sector.
- Nearly two-thirds of other manufacturing workers (63 per cent) have obtained a qualification level ISCED 3 (i.e. upper secondary education) and 4 (i.e. post-secondary non-tertiary education). The qualification level of the occupation is not expected to change over the period to 2035.
- Other manufacturing workers are mainly men. In 2021, 60 per cent of them were men.
- The employment of other manufacturing workers is projected to decline markedly (by more than 13 per cent) between 2022 and 2035. Over the same period, overall employment is forecast to increase by less than 4 per cent.
- This represents a loss of around half a million jobs compared to 2022. Although there will be a fall in the overall number of people as other manufacturing workers, there will be a large number of other manufacturing worker jobs to be filled over the same period. This is because an estimated 2 million people are expected to leave the occupation mainly due to retirement. This means that an estimated almost 1.5 million job openings will need to be filled between 2022 and 2035.
- Developments in various sectors of the manufacturing industry (e.g.food processing and manufacturing, textiles, leather, and wood manufacturing and repair) related to the adoption of new technologies and sustainable production processes will drive changes in the skills required to other manufacturing workers in the future. Technology may automate some tasks conducted by these workers, but sustainable production and repair have the potential to create new tasks and jobs positions for other manufacturing workers.
Employment and job demand
Employment trends for other manufacturing workers were similar to all craft and related trades workers in the past decade. Larger employment drops, such as the one during the Covid-19 pandemic, were compensated by faster recovery in the growth years.
Figure 1: Year-to-year employment change for other manufacturing workers (2013-2022)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Employed persons by detailed occupation (ISCO-08 two digit level) [LFSA_EGAI2D__custom_7778289]. Own calculations.
In 2021, more than a third (38 per cent) of other manufacturing workers were engaged as food processing and related trades workers. These are workers who treat and prepare animals and related food items for human and animal consumption, and process and preserve fruit, vegetables, and related foods. They also work in producing various kinds of bread, cakes and other flour products and taste and grade various food products and beverages products.
Around a quarter of other manufacturing workers (22 per cent) were engaged as wood treaters, cabinetmakers and related trades workers in 2021. People employed in these jobs work with wood as their primary material. They are involved in making and decorating wooden furniture, vehicles and other wooden products and components. They also repair these products as well as deal with drying timber (wood seasoning) and maintenance of equipment.
Overall, in 2021, 21 per cent of other manufacturing workers were engaged as garment and related trades workers. They process leather and leather products such as clothing. They fit and repair tailored clothing, design and construct made-to-measure clothing from textile fabrics, light leather, and other materials, and make changes to these products when requested or needed. They also sew together, repair, renovate and decorate garments, gloves and other products (e.g. seats, panels and other furnishings of automobiles, railway coaches, aircraft, and ships) made of textile, fur, light leather and other related materials.
About 15 per cent of other manufacturing workers were engaged as painters and building structure cleaners and related trades workers in 2021. These include, among others, underwater divers, product graders and testers, and fumigators and related pest and weed controllers.
Between 2016 and 2021, the share of employment accounted for by these four occupations registered limited changes, with garment and related trades workers rising more in importance.
Figure 2: Employment in other manufacturing worker jobs (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
The demand for other manufacturing workers in online job postings displays very similar distribution to their employment shares. Over time, food processing and related trade workers slightly grow in OJAs, while woodworkers seem to decline. For more details on skills demand and job openings for this occupation, please access Cedefop’s Skills OVATE tool.
Figure 3: Online job advertisements for others manufacturing workers (2022, in %)
Source: Skills in Online Job Advertisements indicator based on Cedefop’s Skills OVATE. Own calculations.
Note: Online job advertisements are by definition not equivalent to job vacancies. See Beręsewicz (2021) or Napierala et al. (2022).
The manufacturing sector employs the majority of other manufacturing workers. In 2016, 72 per cent of other manufacturing workers were employed in the manufacturing sector. This had not changed much by 2021 (see Figure 4). The wholesale and retail trade sector is the only other sector with a significant percentage of other manufacturing workers, accounting for 12 per cent of their employment in 2016, and increasing to 13 per cent in 2021. The remaining 15 per cent of other manufacturing workers’ employment is distributed across various sectors.
Figure 4: The top sectors employing other manufacturing workers (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
As regards the share of other manufacturing workers within sectoral employment, these workers form a significant portion of the workforce in the manufacturing sector. In 2021, other manufacturing workers constituted one of the largest occupations within this sector, accounting for 9 per cent of its employment.
The share of other manufacturing workers’ employment in each country is larger in Eastern European countries than in Western Europe countries and varies from almost 4 per cent in Romania to less than 0.5 per cent in Denmark (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Other manufacturing workers as a share of overall country employment (2021, in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Note: Data for CY, EE, IS, LV and LU have lower reliability because of small sample size.
LFS data for MT are not available.
The workforce is composed mainly of men. In 2021, 60 per cent of other manufacturing workers were men.
The age distribution of other manufacturing workers does not differ much from that across all occupations (Figure 6). In 2016, the share of other manufacturing workers aged 50 to 64 years was 5 percentage points larger compared to the share of workers in this age group across all occupations. In 2021, it continued to remain larger than across all occupations.
Figure 6: Other manufacturing workforce by age (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Among other manufacturing workers, the share of new hires is similar to all occupation average. Other manufacturing workers are less likely to have part-time or temporary contracts; on the other hand a significant share of those report having such contracts involuntarily.
Figure 7: Contract and hiring trends for other manufacturing workers (in %)
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Own calculations.
Skill needs and future trends
The majority of other manufacturing workers are employed both in the food industry or wood-making industry. As other skilled manual occupations, this brings manual tasks into higher prominence, but at the same time, other manufacturing workers report rather strong need for skills related to innovation and design. Among skilled manual occupations, they are among those with relatively high digital skill needs, likely connected to design of products and communication with clients.
Figure 8: Skills, training needs and job perception of other manufacturing workers (in %)
Source: European Skills and Jobs Survey Microdata. Own calculations.
Unless stated otherwise, it is a share of people reporting that a task/skill is part of their job.
*Always or often
** Share of workers reporting these needs to a great or moderate extent.
Cedefop’s Skills forecast provides a detailed overview of the future demand for other manufacturing workers. Overall, employment for other manufacturing workers is expected to decline markedly (by 13 per cent) over the period 2022 to 2035.
Employment decline is expected to occur across most of the analysed countries, but its intensity level will vary country by country. Figure 9 compares the employment growth experienced over the relatively recent past to that projected to take place in the future. Employment in six countries grew in the past decade and it is forecast to do so over the next decade as well. Cyprus, France, and Slovakia are among those with highest past and expected future growths, while especially the Island, Portugal and Poland represent the opposite trend.
Figure 9: Past and expected future employment trend other manufacturing workers
Source: European Labour Force Survey. Microdata. Cedefop Skills Forecast.
Note: Data for CY, EE, IS, LV and LU have lower reliability because of the small sample size.
LFS data for MT are not available.
New job creation or loss is not the main driver behind the job demand. Most job openings are a result of people leaving them for other opportunities, or those leaving the labour market completely (retirements; parent leave, etc.). This replacement demand for other manufacturing workers is estimated at 2 million, exceeding forecast job loss by about four times (Figure 10).
Overall, when expected job loss is added to the replacement demand, an estimated almost 1.5 million job openings for other manufacturing workers will need to be filled in between 2022 and 2035.
Figure 10: Future job openings for other manufacturing workers (000s)
Source: Future job openings indicator based on the Cedefop Skills forecast. Own calculations.
More than 63 per cent of other manufacturing workers held medium-level qualifications in 2021 (i.e. at ISCED levels 3 or 4). This is not projected to change much by 2035. The share of workers with low levels of qualification (ISCED level 2 or lower) is projected to drop from 25 per cent in 2022 to 15 per cent in 2035, while the share of highly qualified workers (i.e. those qualified at ISCED level 5 and over) is projected to increase from 10 per cent to 17 per cent over the same period.
Looking forward
Changes in the future skillsets for other manufacturing workers will be driven mostly by factors affecting the manufacturing sector, employing 72 per cent of these workers. Particularly, developments in food processing and manufacturing, textiles, leather, and wood manufacturing and repair will drive the changes in the skills required for these workers (i.e. food processing workers, wood treaters, and garment and related trade workers accounting respectively for 38 per cent, 22 per cent and 21 per cent of the employment in this occupation, see the previous sections).
- Automated systems are increasingly used in the food processing industry across supply chains for tasks related to processing, packaging and distribution. For example, automation of warehouses implies the increased use of analytics in planning flows and in transportation (McKinsey, 2021). These technologies include among others smart packaging and monitoring technologies, detection systems (for odor, taste, moisture), and potential decontamination technologies (Chitrakar et al, 2021). Digital transformation affects also the fashion industry supply chain. For instance, in fabric making (i.e. weaving, knitting, dyeing, washing and finishing), digitalisation helps to: control and reduce inputs like raw materials, energy and water; measure and predict fabric performance; and increase labour safety. AI-controlled pattern and cutting machines, overhead conveyors and tracking terminals decrease energy use and wastage while increasing productivity (CBI Netherlands, 2022). Similarly, digital software will continue to impact the way wood products are designed and later on produced by increasing efficiency – digitalisation of the furniture industry reduces communication flows, errors and repetitive operations (Cerveny et al, 2022). Up- and reskilling is crucial to ensure the necessary skillsets and competences of other manufacturing workers in these sectors. While automation is potentially taking over a variety of the job tasks of these workers, their jobs will rather experience a profound change in sought after skills profiles, rather than being rendered completely obsolete (Ellingrud et al, 2020).
- Sustainability concerns and actions towards meeting Sustainable Development Goals are supported by policy frameworks such as the European Green Deal (2019) and affect the everyday work of other manufacturing workers in many ways. For example, demand for sustainable wood products, which encompass new standards for sustainably sourced and treated wood products, is on the rise. The recycling and repurposing, advanced by frameworks such as the Circular Economy Action Plan, has the potential to create new jobs in sectors where automation takes over particular job positions and create new tasks for other jobs which are not fully automatable. For instance, the Plan proposes initiatives at n the sectoral value chain level, impacting on the production models of businesses, which employ other manufacturing workers. In the textile sector, the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles (2022) proposes some fundamental changes to foster green transition throughout the industrial ecosystem. This includes the introduction of mandatory eco-design requirements, transparency obligations regarding destroying unsold/returned goods, and ecolabels for green textiles.
- Decarbonisation and sustainability are nowadays important strategic objectives for food retailers as consumer preferences increasingly change in favour low-carbon and sustainably produced food (McKinsey, 2022). The Circular Economy Action Plan proposes circular models for the food, water and nutrients industry to enhance the potential of biological resources. Therefore, food processing workers will need to adapt to new regulations and frameworks such as the Farm to Fork Strategy (2020), which seeks to foster healthier and more sustainable food systems in Europe through sustainable food production, processing, wholesale and retail practices for both large and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Generally, other manufacturing workers have a medium level of education. Other manufacturing workers in food production, garment or wood treatment sectors mostly require certified vocational training to obtain a certain level of technical knowhow and craftsmanship.
In France, occupational training opportunities in 255 educational establishments in the textiles, fashion and leather industries are collected on the website of Observatoire des métiers de la Mode, des Textiles et du Cuir. For instance, the professional aptitude certificate in leather work introduces students to knowledge on materials, production modes and environments, and necessary soft skills like communication, while, the professional baccalaureate in production line pilot of textile manufacturing provides them with the necessary competences for textile production to be carried out in the (semi-) automated production lines.
Vocational training for butchers in Germany encompasses three years of development of transversal skills of craftsmanship, creativity, salesmanship, diligence and accuracy, and advanced taste and smell senses. Through the dual education system, butchers are taught about the meat quality across the production system – from being able to assess the state of the live animal and its physiology to various cutting and processing techniques. Students also learn about business planning, sales strategies, hygiene regulations and standards, and the properties and qualities of meat. Through practical work experience in companies, students get to know the production and preservation methods (e.g., cooking, curing, drying, smoking the meat) with progressive levels of responsibility.
While initial training offers the certified knowledge base for working in the chosen sectors, other manufacturing workers may also be required to upskills throughout their careers due to constantly evolving technological tools and sustainable practices. Micro-credentials offer a flexible way of acquiring new knowledge and skills for professional and personal development. These certified short-term learning experiences are usually designed in a way that they could fit in professional lives.
For instance, an Interreg project in South-West Europe has designed the DigitTVC (Digitalisation of textile value chain) course, which aims to support the digital transformation of textile SMEs in Portugal, Spain and France with the assistance of experts on speed and flexibility, innovation, traceability, sustainability and optimisation of resources. The course encompasses modules on the changing industry value chains, creation of digital strategies, expert evaluation of ecosystems and methodologies for knowledge transfers.
The Ecomoda project run by partners from Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Lithuania, and Greece aims to upskill clothing and textile SMEs for sustainable growth. Through the promotion of environmentally friendly principles and CSR practices, Ecomoda seeks to pool and create knowledge and train workers on sustainable practices relevant to all producers in the textiles industry. One of the project outcomes will be a new blended learning course for apparel and textile employees.
In Finland, the International Timber Academy, in collaboration with education providers and employers, offers a comprehensive insight into the value chain of the wood product business. The training comprises five remotely conducted modules (World of Forests, Sawmill Production, Sawmill Production, Panel Products, Global Wood Business, Wood in Architecture) and a week-long study visit to Finland. The university-level course is targeted at both sellers and buyers of wood products, and can enhance the knowledge base of other manufacturing workers, working in general with wood, and in particular with Northern wood.
How to cite this publication:
Cedefop (2023). Other manufacturing workers: skills opportunities and challenges. Skills intelligence data insight.
Further reading
Beręsewicz, M. and Pater, R. (2021). Inferring job vacancies from online job advertisements, Luxembourg: Publications Office, 2021. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-statistical-working-papers/-/ks-tc-20-008
Cerveny, L., Sloup, R., Cervena, T., Riedl, M., Palatova, P. (2022). ‘Industry 4.0 as an Opportunity and Challenge for the Furniture Industry – A Case Study’, Sustainability, Vol. 14(20)
Chitrakar, B., Zhang, M., Bhandari, B. (2021). ‘Improvement strategies of food supply chain through novel food processing technologies during COVID-19 pandemic’, in Food Control, Vol. (125)
CBI Netherlands (Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries) (2022). ‘8 tips to go digital in the apparel sector’. Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, last updated 12 December 2022
European Commission (2019). The European Green Deal, COM(2019), 640 final
European Commission (2020). A new Circular Economy Action Plan. COM(2020) 98 final
European Commission (2020a). A Farm to Fork Strategy. COM(2020) 381 final
European Commission (2022). EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. COM(2022) 141 final
Ellingrud, K., Gupta, R., Salguero, J. (2020). ‘Building the vital skills for the future of work in operations’, in McKinsey & Company: Operations, article, published 7 August 2020
McKinsey (2021). ‘Automation in European grocers’ supply chains has reached its tipping point’, McKinsey and Company: Retail, article, published 1 June 2021
McKinsey (2022). ‘Grocers’ sustainability opportunity in transforming the food system’, McKinsey & Company: Retail, article, published 31 March 2022
Mesjar, L., Cross, K., Jiang, Y., Steed, J. (2023). ‘The Intersection of Fashion, Immersive Technology, and Sustainability: A Literature Review’’, in Sustainability, Vol. 15(4), 3761. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043761.
Napierala, J.; Kvetan, V. and Branka, J. (2022). Assessing the representativeness of online job advertisements. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Cedefop working paper, No 17. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/807500
Data insights details
Table of contents
Page 1
SummaryPage 2
Employment and job demandPage 3
Skill needs and future trendsPage 4
Looking forwardPage 5
Further reading