Science, engineering
and production technicians n.e.c.
Job holders in this unit group perform a variety of technical support functions not elsewhere classified in minor group 311: Science, engineering and production technicians.
- Employees (UK)
- 146k
- Median annual pay
- £34,475
- Exposure score ?
- 1.3/10 Minimal 5.9/10 Moderate strict reading, with tools is 5.9/10 with-tools reading, strict is 1.3/10
- Wage exposure
- £654m £2.97bn
Higher exposure than 64% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
A real share of the task list is within reach, especially drafting, summarising, research and analysis. People in this role who learn to direct AI well will pull ahead of those who do not.
If you are in this role
Treat AI like a capable junior you manage. Where you would hand a task to a junior with a clear brief, AI can do it now. Spend the time you get back on judgement and relationships.
Where the work usually starts.
These are the most important tasks a language model can already handle directly. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around them, so they stop eating the team's time.
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Read worker logs, product processing sheets, or specification sheets to verify that records adhere to quality assurance specifications.
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Prepare production documents, such as standard operating procedures, manufacturing batch records, inventory reports, or productivity reports.
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Provide advice or training to other technicians.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Compile and evaluate statistical data to determine and maintain quality and reliability of products.
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Study time, motion, methods, or speed involved in maintenance, production, or other operations to establish standard production rate or improve efficiency.
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Read worker logs, product processing sheets, or specification sheets to verify that records adhere to quality assurance specifications.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians" (17-3026.00).
What AI can already do
3 of 30 tasks, unaided
Read worker logs, product processing sheets, or specification sheets to verify that records adhere to quality assurance specifications.
Prepare production documents, such as standard operating procedures, manufacturing batch records, inventory reports, or productivity reports.
Provide advice or training to other technicians.
What still needs a person
27 of 30 tasks
Test selected products at specified stages in the production process for performance characteristics or adherence to specifications.
Compile and evaluate statistical data to determine and maintain quality and reliability of products.
Study time, motion, methods, or speed involved in maintenance, production, or other operations to establish standard production rate or improve efficiency.
Verify that equipment is being operated and maintained according to quality assurance standards by observing worker performance.
Evaluate industrial operations for compliance with permits or regulations related to the generation, storage, treatment, transportation, or disposal of hazardous materials or waste.
Aid in planning work assignments in accordance with worker performance, machine capacity, production schedules, or anticipated delays.
Adhere to all applicable regulations, policies, and procedures for health, safety, and environmental compliance.
Analyze, estimate, or report production costs.
Assist engineers in developing, building, or testing prototypes or new products, processes, or procedures.
Calibrate or adjust equipment to ensure quality production, using tools such as calipers, micrometers, height gauges, protractors, or ring gauges.
Conduct statistical studies to analyze or compare production costs for sustainable and nonsustainable designs.
Coordinate equipment purchases, installations, or transfers.
Create or interpret engineering drawings, schematic diagrams, formulas, or blueprints for management or engineering staff.
Design plant layouts or production facilities.
Develop manufacturing infrastructure to integrate or deploy new manufacturing processes.
Develop or implement programs to address problems related to production, materials, safety, or quality.
Develop production, inventory, or quality assurance programs.
Develop sustainable manufacturing technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimize raw material use, replace toxic materials with non-toxic materials, replace non-renewable materials with renewable materials, or reduce waste.
Identify opportunities for improvements in quality, cost, or efficiency of automation equipment.
Monitor and adjust production processes or equipment for quality and productivity.
Oversee equipment start-up, characterization, qualification, or release.
Oversee or inspect production processes.
Prepare layouts, drawings, or sketches of machinery or equipment, such as shop tooling, scale layouts, or new equipment design, using drafting equipment or computer-aided design (CAD) software.
Recommend corrective or preventive actions to assure or improve product quality or reliability.
Select cleaning materials, tools, or equipment.
Select material quantities or processing methods needed to achieve efficient production.
Set up and operate production equipment in accordance with current good manufacturing practices and standard operating procedures.
Tasks via O*NET "Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians" (17-3026.00).
What AI can already do
24 of 30 tasks, with tools
Compile and evaluate statistical data to determine and maintain quality and reliability of products.
Study time, motion, methods, or speed involved in maintenance, production, or other operations to establish standard production rate or improve efficiency.
Read worker logs, product processing sheets, or specification sheets to verify that records adhere to quality assurance specifications.
Evaluate industrial operations for compliance with permits or regulations related to the generation, storage, treatment, transportation, or disposal of hazardous materials or waste.
Aid in planning work assignments in accordance with worker performance, machine capacity, production schedules, or anticipated delays.
Prepare production documents, such as standard operating procedures, manufacturing batch records, inventory reports, or productivity reports.
Provide advice or training to other technicians.
Adhere to all applicable regulations, policies, and procedures for health, safety, and environmental compliance.
Analyze, estimate, or report production costs.
Assist engineers in developing, building, or testing prototypes or new products, processes, or procedures.
Conduct statistical studies to analyze or compare production costs for sustainable and nonsustainable designs.
Coordinate equipment purchases, installations, or transfers.
Create or interpret engineering drawings, schematic diagrams, formulas, or blueprints for management or engineering staff.
Design plant layouts or production facilities.
Develop manufacturing infrastructure to integrate or deploy new manufacturing processes.
Develop or implement programs to address problems related to production, materials, safety, or quality.
Develop production, inventory, or quality assurance programs.
Develop sustainable manufacturing technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimize raw material use, replace toxic materials with non-toxic materials, replace non-renewable materials with renewable materials, or reduce waste.
Identify opportunities for improvements in quality, cost, or efficiency of automation equipment.
Monitor and adjust production processes or equipment for quality and productivity.
Oversee or inspect production processes.
Prepare layouts, drawings, or sketches of machinery or equipment, such as shop tooling, scale layouts, or new equipment design, using drafting equipment or computer-aided design (CAD) software.
Recommend corrective or preventive actions to assure or improve product quality or reliability.
Select material quantities or processing methods needed to achieve efficient production.
What still needs a person
6 of 30 tasks
Test selected products at specified stages in the production process for performance characteristics or adherence to specifications.
Verify that equipment is being operated and maintained according to quality assurance standards by observing worker performance.
Calibrate or adjust equipment to ensure quality production, using tools such as calipers, micrometers, height gauges, protractors, or ring gauges.
Oversee equipment start-up, characterization, qualification, or release.
Select cleaning materials, tools, or equipment.
Set up and operate production equipment in accordance with current good manufacturing practices and standard operating procedures.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Associate professional occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons