Annual Salary
£18,000 to £25,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Engineering design or Manufacturing or go back to all job sectors
Swap to Engineering design or Manufacturing or go back to all job sectors
Engineering operatives make, service and repair machinery and tools across different industries.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends; on shifts
There will be
5.8% fewer Engineering operative jobs in 2027.
In this job, you could:
You may need to wear protective clothing.
You could work in a factory, on a construction site or in a workshop.
Your working environment may be dusty, hot and physically demanding.
You can get into this job through:
You could take a college course to learn some of the skills needed for this job. Relevant courses include:
You may need:
You could start by doing an engineering operative intermediate apprenticeship.
You'll usually need:
You can apply directly for jobs if you have engineering experience. This could be from mechanical servicing or maintenance, fitting, fabrication or electrical work.
You'll need to:
You'll find more advice on training and working in engineering from the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board and Tomorrow's Engineers.
With further training, you could become an engineering craftsperson or technician in your particular industry. You could also specialise, for example in CNC machining, welding or heavy vehicle mechanics.
You'll need: