Job profile
Production manager (m/f/d)
Production managers: planning and organising the entire production process
The tasks of production managers, who are highly valued in most producing industries, include the organisation and management of production processes, but also quality management and personnel management. Production managers oversee the entire production process from purchasing to sales. The head of production has an overview of the entire production from purchasing to sales. To do this, they plan production processes, monitor their execution and adhere to agreed budget targets by meticulously planning labour, material and maintenance costs. The production manager is also responsible for coordination between employees and work processes.
Which opportunities do production managers have on the labour market?
In all producing industries, smooth production and quality assurance are key factors for the company's profitability. Production managers coordinate the entire production chain. Career prospects are good in all sectors, especially in engineering and increasingly also in the production segment of Life Sciences.
Production Management Tasks: A challenging job
Production managers ensure smooth production as they have an overview of the entire process, including the specification and purchase of the materials, the instruction and further training of the production employees as well as the quality assurance and error analysis. Due to the close cooperation with marketing and sales, production managers can take into account current findings in order to continuously improve production efficiency. Production management ensures and guarantees production and occupational safety as well as the monitoring of environmental protection requirements. There is constant coordination between production management and operations management. In summary, the following tasks are omnipresent in production management:
- Involved in product development and purchasing
- Technical and commercial planning and production management
- Quality assurance and improvement, continuous efficiency control
- Error and problem analysis
- Management, motivation and training of employees
Which hard skills and soft skills should production managers have?
After their graduation or apprenticeship, further training and practical experience are required.
Besides, production managers need to have good time management and organisational skills, knowledge of lean production and the ability to create competitive advantages for the company by ensuring cost-efficient, customer-oriented production processes. They should also have a good technical understanding and a methodical approach.
As they are responsible for all employees in the production chain, good communication and leadership skills and the ability to motivate people are just as important as team spirit and foreign language skills.
- A completed apprenticeship or an academic degree in engineering, e.g. civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, media informatics
- Further training on production management
- Professional experience in the relevant industry
- Organisational management skills
- Error detection skills
- Leadership qualities and good communication skills
- Assertiveness
- Time management skills
- Resilience
- Business fluent in foreign languages
Production management Salary: What is the average salary of production managers?
In production management, the salary usually starts at 36,000 euros per year. Experienced production managers may have salaries of over EUR 57,000 per year, depending on the location of the company rather than on the sector they work in as well as the degree and professional experience. Additionally, some companies pay their managers annual bonuses of between EUR 2,000 and EUR 3,000.
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