Careers in Production Management

Industrial production management is concerned with the organisation of raw material, machinery and labour to produce the desired goods or services along with taking care of quality and quantity of the products so produced. Industrial production managers are responsible for production schedule and staffing, procurement and maintenance of equipment, quality control and coordination of production activities among different departments. While controlling the overall production process they also take care of economic efficiency and in-time delivery of the goods and services so produced. Besides, they should be aware of the recent market trends and the resultant change in the demand pattern.

Course Details
Production Managers should be well-equipped with technical aspects of the production process along with extra-ordinary management skills. To start a career in production management one should go for a MBA (Production Management) degree. The minimum qualification for MBA (Production Management) is graduation in any discipline. However Engineering/Technology graduates have relative advantage over general graduates. Admission into MBA (Production Management) is made through entrance tests conducted by institutes concerned. Some institutes even accept CAT/XAT/MAT score cards. There are also PG Diploma and short-term Certificate courses in production management. The basic eligibility and course duration are bound to vary for these courses.

Career Prospects
There are numerous job openings for production managers as a result of the rapid growth of manufacturing and services sectors. Job prospects are quite better for candidates having B.E/B.Tech degree along with MBA (production management). Production Managers can seek employment with a variety of manufacturing industries such as automobiles, engineering goods, heavy machinery, iron-steel and other metal industries, chemical and fertilizer etc. They also can get job opportunities in IT, telecom and energy sectors. Services industries, particularly the IT enabled services companies also need production managers.

Top Colleges Offering UG/PG/Other Courses
Some premier institutes in India offering various courses in production management are: Allana Institute of Management Sciences (AIMS), Pune; International Council for Management Studies, Chennai; All India Institute of Management Studies (AIIMAS), Chennai; Indian Management Training and Research Institute, Jalandhar; Small Industries Services Institute, New Delhi; Modern Institute Of Management, Delhi; Indian Institute of Management Training, Pune and Indian Institutes of Product Management, Sundergarh, Orissa.

Remuneration
Remuneration of production managers varies from industries to industries. In PSUs they are offered pay packages as per the government rules and regulation. However private sector is more attractive for these production managers in terms of salaries and other allowances.