The chances of getting a job as a pharmaceutical production operator are good. Growing demand worldwide for pharmaceutical products has resulted in export growth for New Zealand's pharmaceutical manufacturers. Job opportunities in some areas have increased to match this demand.

For example, people with experience working in Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), a quality management system, have strong job prospects.

Competition from lower-priced pharmaceuticals from overseas may reduce job opportunities in some areas of pharmaceutical manufacturing. However, some pharmaceutical manufacturers are expanding into different areas, such as natural remedies, to combat this.

There are about 100 pharmaceutical manufacturers in New Zealand, employing about 2,100 people. These companies manufacture pharmaceutical products for national and international markets.

Products manufactured in New Zealand include:

• cosmetics and health-related products (nutraceuticals)
• veterinary products
• biotechnical products (products for the health sector, which can be for human and animal consumption).

Most of New Zealand's large pharmaceutical manufacturing businesses are in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. There is also a large employer, NZ Pharmaceuticals, in Palmerston North.

As production processes in pharmaceutical manufacturing are highly automated, and companies have to comply with strict international and national standards pharmaceutical production, operators do little manual labour. Instead they do tasks such as recording, analysis and reporting.

Sought-after skills in this job include:

• data collection
• scientific interpretation
• report writing
• quality assurance.

Some employers find it difficult to recruit people with these skills, or the necessary qualifications and training. This means most pharmaceutical companies train staff on the job.