Many sectors of manufacturing need lightweight, high strength materials, and today this can be satisfied by the use of 'composites' - the combining of non-metals (like glass fibre and carbon) using chemical processes to create materials that are much stronger than the constituent parts. The Composites sector is innovative and rapidly expanding, and its applications seems only limited by our imagination.

The marine industry is the largest user of composites, particularly fibreglass: surfboards, small powerboats, yachts, large cruisers, and even the hulls and superstructure of modern warships all use composites.

Racing car bodies are carbon or fibreglass composites, as are a new generation of trains being developed. Many aircraft components are also now made from composites to decrease weight and hence cost of operation. Composite bridges are even being developed, with almost no ongoing maintenance requirements

Composites can provide you a rewarding and exciting career, working to create new products and improve existing ones, and the skills you acquire can have you working across many different sectors of manufacturing.