Quality control officer
11.9K UK workers · typical pay £30,500 · entry route Bachelor's degree (Level 6). Projected headcount change: -1% to 2035.
Real Claude.ai usage mapped to this occupation's SOC group, Apr+May 2026, CC-BY. Claude users only; task times model-estimated; augment/automate is how AI is used, not a count of jobs lost. Method →
Quality control involves a mix of physical inspection in factories or labs and digital data analysis, which creates a buffer against full automation. While AI and computer vision are rapidly automating the 'inspection and testing' tasks, the role still requires physical presence to identify process gaps and human communication to manage compliance and policy updates within UK regulatory frameworks.
While cheaper QC allows for more frequent testing and higher precision, the total volume is ultimately gated by the physical output of UK manufacturing and the number of regulated batches produced.
Headcount drifts -1% across 12 years.
Change the scenario in the nav to reshape this curve.
UK employment share by region, SOC-joined to 3115.
Majority-male role (63.4% men).
Five roles with transferable skills and better demand dynamics.
quality-control-assistant · dataset 2026.03 · CC-BY-4.0