Healing process: Careers in the process sector

Ask the average engineering student what sector they’d like to be involved  in and chances are the process industries won’t feature very highly. For many, process engineering brings to mind dull conservatism, where regulation and traditional practice overshadow innovation and achievement. According to Stan Higgins, chief executive of the North East of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC), the reality is very different. While he admits that the sector suffers from an image problem, he claims that you only need to look at the impact of products developed by the process industries to realise the rewards of a career as a process engineer.

‘It’s the chemical sciences that will bring about the biggest improvement in society’s carbon footprint,’ Higgins said. ‘The evidence shows that our products already have a huge impact in terms of energy savings — for example, in insulating homes, providing plastics to reduce the weight of vehicles and fuel additives to boost consumption.’ The sector  also contributes significantly to the UK economy and is currently worth more than £60bn per year. It has continued to grow in output year on year since the 1960s and is one of the last remaining net exporters in the UK. Over the last decade, process industries have added £30m per day to the UK balance of trade while the rest of manufacturing has shown a £200m per day deficit.