employment & industries · many factors influence the location of industry. location factors...

Employment & industries

Which job would you choose?

How can industrial activity be classified?

PRIMARYThese industries

extract raw materials directly from the earth or

sea.

SECONDARYThese industries

process and manufacture

products from raw materials.

TERTIARYThese industries

provide a service.

QUATERNARYThese industries

incorporate a high degree of research and

technology in their processes and employ

highly qualified people.

What is the employment structure?Employment structure is the proportion of people working in each type of industry. This changes over time and vary from one place to another. Employment structure give indication to how rich or poor a country is. Poor countries tend o have most people working in the primary sector while richer countries have more people

working in the tertiary.

People made living from farming, were on low wages and lived in

rural areas. Majority were farmers while others made things either for use in farming (ex. ploughs).

During the nineteenth century jobs changed dramatically. The Industrial Revolution led people to move to town and work in heavy industries (ex. Coal mining, steel factories making ships and machinery).

Further changes occurred as primary and secondary industries have become more

mechanised, therefore needing less workers. Coal and other resources started

running out and industries started facing competition from other countries. More hospitals, schools, shops and transport

provided many new jobs.

Industrialised countries have experienced increased

wealth and improved quality of life.

What is an industrial system?Inputs: The things that are needed to make or create a product. These maybe physical or human e.g. labour (workers), money or raw materials.

Processes: The events or activities that take place to make a product e.g. watering crops or assembling a car.

Outputs: The finished product that is sold to a consumer e.g. milk, a television or a car.

Where should an industry be located?

Cement works

Distribution firm

Accountants

Modern steel factory

Locational factorsMany factors influence the location of industry. Location factors are easily divided into two sections: physical factors and socio-economic (human) factors.

A general rule is that the physical factors were the primary influence over the location of the older industries in most places, whilst the economic ones are increasingly important in industrial location now.

Heavy industry required large amounts of bulky raw materials, which were very costly to transport, and so the industry located close to them.

Now, industries can gain their power from the National Grid and so power does not really influence location a great deal.

Flat land is the most essential thing to find. Most industries also try to find areas where there is room to expand once production has become successful.

Very important to old, labour-intensive industries. This is why many of them located near cities, so that there was a huge pool of potential workers close by.

With the growth in car ownership, and industries becoming more mechanised labour supply is not such an important factor for most industries.

In the last 19th Century the market for most industries would be fairly local. Into the 20th century the market widened with improved transport technology. Now, the market for many companies is a global one.

Changes in industrial location

Iron and steel industryThe iron industry - a lot of raw materials were needed. These were available locally.

The raw materials were heavy and expensive to

transport over long distances. Coal became the main source of power for the furnaces.

Three tonnes of coal was needed to smelt one tonne

of iron. It was therefore much cheaper to produce

iron and steel near the sources of iron ore and coal.

The finished product could be easily exported

through the ports of Cardiff and Newport. By 1860

there were 35 ironworks in the South Wales valleys, all using local resources.

In the past iron and steel works were located close to the raw

materials. They changed locations because of a number of factors:

• The local raw materials ran out – the raw materials are now imported from other countries.

• There is a need for ports and docks to handle the imported

raw materials.

• the steelworks need to be close to water for cooling and other processes.

• the new steelworks are integrated plants where all the processes are done on one site.

Port Talbot steelworks imports its coal from America, Australia,

Canada and Europe. Its iron ore comes from Australia, Brasil,

Canada and Africa. The limestone comes from local sources

AND Cumbria. The steelworks uses up to 15 million gallons of water a day with 70% of it being recycled.

Port Talbot steelworksPort Talbot was a new steelworks

build in 1990. There is a large

area of flat land, near to the sea

for importing and exporting

purposes.

Near by is a large workforce and

access to the entire British market

through the excellent motorway

links. It has created employment

opportunities in the area, and has

encouraged further investmentand growth.

The car industryPresent-day industries need large markets in which to

sell their goods. The car industry is an example of an

industry that is building new factories near to

markets.

A modern car consists of many small parts. Each part

is made in its own factory. If the factories making

theses parts are all close together then it is easier

and cheaper for the car manufacturer to assemble

(put together) all of these parts. If large towns are

nearby then workers from these towns can make and

assemble the parts and, hopefully, buy many of the

finished cars. Transport is important for moving car

parts, assembled cars and workers.

Car industry in the UKIn the UK foreign car producers have been doing

well in Britain. As a result of high foreign direct

investment, Britain has a wider range of car

manufacturers than anywhere else in Europe.

Nissan’s Sunderland factory however, remains the most efficient in Europe. It is the largest

plant in the UK.

Toyota - BurnastonManufacturing Plant

JUST-IN-TIME PRODUCTION

Hi-tech industriesHigh-technology or high-tech industries make products such as microchips, computers,

mobile phones, pharmaceuticals(drugs) and scientific equipment. They have been the

growth industry of recent years. High-tech companies use the most advanced

manufacturing methods and they put great emphasis on the research and development of

new products. They employ highly skilled and inventive workforce.

Newly industrialised countries• A newly industrialized country (or NIC) is a developing economy that has. transitioned

from being based on agriculture or extraction of raw materials, to being primarily based

on the production of manufactured goods

• These nations have taken important steps towards industrialization and might be

considered as developed economies at some point in the near future.