Employment growth has been strongest in the high-skilled and low-skilled occupations, but the number of jobs requiring mid-skilled workers – skilled tradespeople, machine operatives and administrative and secretarial workers – is shrinking.
Electricians/electrical fitters, labourers in process & plant operations, van drivers, coal mine operatives, glass & ceramics makers decorators & finishers, HGV drivers, stock control clerks, auto electricians, labourers in building & woodworking trades, metal working machine operatives, and goods handling & storage occupations accounted for 51% of men in routine or manual occupations.
This embraces a wide range of occupations from sales assistants and retail check-out (£240 a week), through nursing assistants, secretarial, security work, plant and machine operatives, electrical and construction, civil service executive grades, sales reps, to nursing, police and fire service (around £520 a week).
8. Process and plant and machine operatives.
It is highest for elementary workers (for example, cleaners and labourers) and operatives (clothing cutters, plastic wood and machine operatives): in these occupations 1 in 3 workers are immigrants.
The highest average life satisfaction was reported by those in professional occupations such as teaching, medicine or law and was lowest among "process, plant and machine operatives".
There are also "very highly exposed industries" that employ about 500,000 process, plant and machine operatives.
Most people whose education finished at age 16 are working in jobs categorised as "lower-middle skill" – such as shop assistants, secretaries or machine operatives, the ONS found.
Other jobs obtained were skilled trade's occupation (n = 1), and process, plant and machine operative (n = 1).
Perhaps there is something to be said for conformity in social life when our working lives have so little room for rugged individualism: it is painful to be an expert on Spinoza in the evenings and a machine operative for the rest of the day.
What kind of work did your other parent or caregiver do when you were around 14? Semi-routine manual and service occupations such as: postal worker - machine operative - security guard - caretaker - farm worker - catering assistant - receptionist - sales assistant.
