INDUSTRIAL

SYSTEMS
iGCSE Geography

Learning Outcome 1
To be able to describe and give examples of primary, secondary and tertiary
industry

PRIMARY INDUSTRY
Description:
Primary industry is the extraction
of raw materials from the ground or
the sea.
People working in these industries are
described as being in the primary
sector.

Examples:

Mining, quarrying, farming, fishing

and forestry.
All of which produce raw materials that
can be processed in to a finished
product.

SECONDARY INDUSTRY
Description:
Secondary industry is the
manufacturing of finished goods
using either raw materials from
primary industry or semi-finished
products from other industries

Examples:
heavy manufacturing (like steel
making or textile production), light
manufacturing, (food processing),
oil refining and energy production.

Description:

TERTIARY INDUSTRYThe provision of services.

No tangible (physical) product

Examples:
Doctors, teachers, lawyers,
estate agents, travel agents,
accountants and policemen.
People working in these industries
work in the tertiary sector.

The biggest area of expansion in the

tertiary sector in the UK has been in
financial and business services.
According to government statistics,
25 years ago one in ten people
worked in this industry, now it is 1 in
5.

QUATERNARY INDUSTRY
Description:
The newest, most hi-tech
sector of industry. They are the
research and development
industries
Examples:
The quaternary sector consists of
those industries providing
information services, such as
computing, ICT (information and
communication technologies),
consultancy (offering advice to
businesses) and R&D (research,
particularly in scientific fields)..
The tertiary and quaternary sectors
make up the largest part of the UK
economy, employing 76 per cent of

Industry classification
1

2 Oil drilling

Study the photographs.

Categorize these industries under
the following headings: primary,
secondary and tertiary.
Are any of these industries
4 quaternary?
6

NAPP
Pharmaceuticals
3
Research

Classification of industry

Learning Outcome 2
To understand how employment patterns vary between countries

You can use the percentage of people working in each sector to help
describe how developed a country is. This is called the employment
structure.
The more developed a country becomes the more it will rely on
secondary and, in particular, tertiary industries. A less developed
country will be characterised by a greater percentage of the
population in primary industries, usually farming.

Mali is an LEDC, 84% of the

population are employed in the
primary sector, probably as
subsistence farmers

Only 2% of the population are

employed in secondary industry
and 13% in the tertiary sector.
This is typical of less developed
countries

Example LEDC: Ethiopia

Primary: 88%; Secondary: 2%; Tertiary: 10%; Quaternary:0%
Ethiopia is a typical example of a developing country, in terms of its
employment structure. The majority of the population work in the primary
sector. Most of these are subsistence farmers, who basically grow enough for
themselves and their family, but little more. They don't have a great deal, if
any, left over to sell at the market.
Ethiopia has very little manufacturing industry,
as it does not have the raw materials available,
and lacks sufficient investment and technology
to exploit the natural resources that it does have.
10% work in the tertiary industry, primarily in
the main cities, such as Addis Ababa, where
there are hospitals, schools and other
professional services The remainder of the
country has very poor access to education and
health care due to this lack of people in the
tertiary sector.

Interpreting graphs

Learning Outcome
Employment patterns in the UK have changed significantly
over the past 150 yrs
All countries undergo changes in their economic systems, the relative importance of
different economic activities in the UK has changed over the past 150yrs.
3 trends are apparent IN THE UK annotate these on your graph

From 1851 until

1951 an average
of 50% of the
population were
employed in
manufacturing. In
the 1990s there
was a sharp
decline, where
the percentage
fell to 25%.

During WWII, secondary

industry increased and
tertiary industry decreased?
Why do you think this
happened?

A steady decrease in the primary sector, from

25% of the population in 1851, to 2% in 1991.

An increase in
tertiary
employment,
gradual but steady
until W WII. It has
increased rapidly
from 46% in 1951 to
70% in 1991

How can we explain the changes in the UK Employment

patterns?
1.

Why has there been a steady decrease in primary

employment?
Improvements in technology have
lead to increased mechanisation
which has reduced the need for
agricultural workers in particular
Many raw materials, for example
iron ore and coal, have been used
up or are cheaper to import from
abroad
Jobs in primary industries are often
seen to be dirty and to have fewer
career prospects. Workers prefer
the better paid and less physically
demanding jobs in the tertiary
sector

2. Why has there been an increase in the

tertiary sector?
The tertiary sector has increased rapidly in the
last decades of the twentieth century. Most
of this was in the new hi-tech industries
such as micro electronics and research and
development.
3. Why has there been a decline
in the secondary sector?
(deindustrialisation)
Machines replaced people in most
manufacturing industries
Other countries (LEDCs) produced
goods more cheaply, due to cheaper
land and labour so manufacturing
industries relocated there
Prices for UK goods were too high
due to high interest rates, lack of
investment and low productivity

A little bit of history! EARLY INDUSTRY

Early industry in Scotland was small scale, used
manual power e.g spinning and weaving cloth
and was carried out by individuals in houses.
This was known as the domestic system of
manufacturing
Water power was used to grind grain in small
mills in riverside locations.
The economy was based on self sufficiency,
most people worked in the primary sector
(mining, fishing, farming) and secondary
industry only developed in areas where there
were villages and small towns
Labour was supplied by a small number of
skilled craftsmen in each location
Industry was widely dispersed, making use
of local raw materials

A little bit of history! BEGINNING OF THE

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The development of the factory system, meant
industry became less dispersed
Large textile mills were constructed, using
water power and workers lived in homes beside
the factories, creating settlements e.g Stanley on
the River Tay
The money for the new enterprises came from
businessmen (entrepreneurs) willing to invest in
industry, landowners trying to maximise income
from their estates, loans from new banks and
merchants who had made their fortunes trading in
the colonies
Industry was located near rivers for water
power, transport, disposal of waste
Transport was improving with the opening
of turnpike (toll) roads and the buildings of
canals
Demand for labour was met by former

Employment patterns have also changed in LEDCs

The 3 pie charts below show how the three sectors of industry have changed
between 1960 and 2000. These changes are typical of an LEDC

Primary Industry

Secondary Industry

Tertiary Industry

Decreases as the
country becomes
increasingly urban. The
number of farmers
decrease as rural
workers migrate to
urban areas

Increases as the country

gradually becomes more
industrialised.

Increase to service the

needs of the growing
industries

Learning Outcome 1
You should be able to describe the main features of an industrial system

All categories of industry operate as systems, based on inputs,

processes and outputs.

Learning Objective
To know the factors which influence the location of different
types of industry (primary, secondary, tertiary old and
new industry). You should also be able to explain the impact
of each factor on specific industries

How do industries choose their location?

Deciding where
to locate an
industry requires
weighing up a
large number of
factors.
The owner will
want to locate
at a site that
will give the

Location Factors
PHYSICAL
Those which are
related to the
natural environment
such as land, raw
materials and
energy.

LOCATIO
N
FACTORS

HUMAN
These are about the
influence of people,
such as labour,
government policy,
transport, markets
and capital

Initially, in the United Kingdom industry was

fairly closely tied to where the raw materials
were, in particular coal for power. Nowadays,
the change from heavy industry to light,
footloose industry, has meant that industries
can locate anywhere and so other factors,
such as communications links and government
policy, become far more important.
A general rule is that the physical factors were
the primary influence over the location of the
old industries in Britain, whilst the economic
ones are increasingly important in industrial

PHYSICAL FACTORS

Accessibility: The site of the new factor needs to be accessible, so that

importing of raw materials and exporting of finished products is easy. Early
industry had to have good access to raw materials, usually though natural
routes like rivers. Nowadays access is needed to transport routes including
road, rail, air or water. Therefore, many industrial sites are located near major
roads, river valleys, at the cost or near a port or airport.

Climate: The climate could affect where an industry locates, as it needs to

attract workers to the area. This is not a particularly important factor.

Land: The site of an industry is very important. Usually, flat land is the most
essential thing to find. Most industries also try to find areas where there is room
to expand once production has become successful.

Victorian industries often located in the inner city areas of towns, which didn't
allow much room for expansion, but was required because the work-force could
live within walking distance of the factory. Today cars have allowed industry to
move to out-of-town locations as the workers can drive to the factory.

Power: Initially, industry had to locate right beside its power source. Water
power was used at first, and then the burning of coal produced steam power.
Both sources of energy restricted where industries could locate, as they had to
be beside a suitable river or near the coal field. Now, industries can gain their
power from the National Grid and so power does not really influence location a
great deal.

Raw Materials: Old, heavy industry required large amounts of bulky raw
materials, which were very costly to transport, and so the industry located close
to them. Newer industries are described as being footloose, as they are not
tied by being near raw materials, which are smaller and easier to transport.

HUMAN FACTORS

Capital: Very important to any industry. Companies cannot set up their chosen
industry without investment of money. This may come from private sources or
from the government.

Communication & Tranport links: Probably the most important factor for new
industries nowadays. Most need communications links not only to the rest of the
country, but to the rest of Europe and the World. Transport routes such as the
motorways, airports, railways and the ports are all things that will attract
industrial location. Communications increasingly also includes access to the
internet, fax and phones. All these allow industries to have a greater freedom of
choice over their location.

Government & EU policy: Governments can greatly influence the location of

industry, by giving tax incentives, cheap rent and other benefits to companies
locating in certain areas of the country. Often these are places, which the
government wants to develop economically or where there is high unemployent.
Government policy also lead to the closure of many of the heavy industries in the
United Kingdom, such as numerous coal mines and ship building yards.

Labour Supply: Very important to old, labour-intensive industries. This is why

many of them located in the inner cities, so that there was a huge pool of
potential workers close by. With the growth in car ownership, and industries
becoming more mechanised labour supply is not such an important factor for most
industries. However, some industries rely on it. . Often companies locate in areas
where old industries have declined, leaving a large unemployed labour force that
needs work. Many of the quaternary industries in the UK are found near the
university towns of Oxford and Cambridge, as they want to attract skilled,
knowledgeable graduates for their industry. Some industries, however, require less
labour than was previously the case due to the introduction of technology

HUMAN FACTORS

Industrial inertia inertia is the term used to describe the situation

whereby an industry will continue to operate in an area although the
original location factors may no longer by a major influence. This may
happen because it would be too costly to close the industry and move it
elsewhere

Economies of larger factories/ improved technology large

factories may find it convenient to locate beside each other in order to
share the benefits of cost of land or reduce transport costs if trading
good with each other. Improved technology such as use of computers
can allow industries such as communications/ newspapers to locate in a
variety of areas and have information transferred from the centre to
production sites.

Agglomeration and footloose industries

These are two 'special cases' of industrial location.
Agglomeration

Footloose industries

a number of producers in the

same or related industries
group themselves together.

Industries which are less

dependent on factors that tie them
to a specific geographical location.

They do this to benefit from

local skill pools, economies of
scale or the prowess of a
locality in a particular field.

Unlike manufacturing industries,

tertiary or services, companies do
not have to be near a source of
raw materials. As long as they
have suitable transport, energy
and communications links, they
can locate themselves virtually
anywhere in the world.

An example is the large

number of financial services
companies (eg banks and
insurance companies) which
are headquartered in the City
of London.

Examples of footloose industries

are computer software
development, telephone sales and
call centres.

Factors influencing location of industry

TASK: SPIDER DIAGRAM

Using the information in your notes, create a
spider diagram of factors influencing
industrial location.
Shade the physical factors green, and the
human factors blue.

Location of different
industries

Learning Outcome
You should be able to describe the location factors which help
in attracting foreign manufacturing industries to an area
Local and national governments can have a major influence on
the location of industry
At a national level, governments can intervene in the process
of attracting industries to certain parts of the country by:
Offering grants to firms to go to specified areas eg. Areas suffering
from industrial decline. Offering subsidies, perhaps to help firms to
construct premises, purchase machinery or pay labour costs
Offering assistance with labour costs by contributing to re-training
scheme, paying additional premiums on salaries to attract workers
Offering tax incentives to companies by, for example, reducing
company taxes for a number of year to encourage them to set up
business
Combing with local government to reduce or remove rents and rates
for a set period to assist in the companys early development
Contributing to the costs of infrastructure improvements in the area,
such as new road or rail links
In the case of older industries, providing financial assistance to help
these industries during periods of economic recession.

Learning Outcome
You should be able to describe the location factors which help
in attracting foreign manufacturing industries to an area

Reasons for adopting these measures include:

Boosting the economies of depressed areas
Helping to reduce the levels of unemployment within specific
areas
Trying to assist in the process of re-industrialisation, namely by
replacing older, declining industries with a newer, more modern
and economically successful industrial base
Attempting to decentralise industry from the economically
stronger areas of the country (e.g. South east of Britain) to
weaker areas such as the north east and north west where
many traditional industries have declined
Attracting foreign investment by encouraging non-European
companies to set up bases in Britain, thereby giving them the
opportunity to trade within the European community. In this
way both the country and the company will enjoy mutual
benefits.

Industry anagrams

Learning Objective
To study the factors that affect the location of hitech industry
Learning Outcome

To be able to describe and explain the specific

factors that affect the location of high-tech
industry in Bracknell, Berkshire.

What is high-tech industry?

High-technology industry involves a highly-skilled
workforce and its products require a high proportion of
research and development.
High-technology industry is relatively footloose since
access to raw materials is not very important. The raw
materials that are required are usually lightweight
electronic components.

Examples of high-tech
industry

High-tech industry in the UK

Where does
high-tech
industry locate
in the UK?
Silicon Glen

Cambridge and
the M11
corridor
M4 Corridor

M3 corridor

THE M4
CORRIDOR

New industrial regions in Britain

have tended to grow up along main
communication routes. The best
example of this is the "Sunrise
Strip", which takes in the area
around motorways such as the M11,
M23, M3 and, most importantly, the
M4.

These industries are described as

being footloose. They have
generally grown up over the last 25
years in "growth areas", along
communications routes. Although
they do bring prosperity to regions,
the new industries actually employ
few people in comparison to the
older, declining, heavy industries.
Traditional location factors have
been super-seeded by newer ones.

High-tech industry on the M4 corridor

CASE STUDY: HIGH-TECH INDUSTRY IN BRACKNELL,

BERKSHIRE

Sketch map
Draw your sketch map in the centre of an A3 sheet of paper,
put the key at the bottom to leave plenty of room for
annotations around your map

map

key

At the end of the lesson you will complete the following task
TASK: Annotate the map of Bracknell to explain why it is an
ideal place for High-tech industry (remember these are the
factors affecting the location of secondary industry)

CASE STUDY: HIGH-TECH INDUSTRY IN BRACKNELL,

BERKSHIRE

BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE
High Tech Firms that have located in Bracknell
include:

Why have hi-tech industries located in Bracknell? (location

factors!)

1. Excellent Communication Network

-

-.

this means they can attract workers in a competitive

market, as they can commute to work quickly and easily
Products can be moved to and from the sites quickly and
efficiently

ROAD: A329 leads to the M4

A322 leads to the M3
AIR: Bracknell is 30km from Heathrow
airport
and 80km from Gatwick airport
RAIL:

Bracknell is on the Reading

to Waterloo train line

Why have hi-tech industries located in Bracknell? (location

factors!)

2. Availability of a young highly skilled

workforce
-

work carried out by high-tech companies is partly research,

so workers need to be highly skilled and up to date with the
latest ideas and technology the younger generation is
more in touch with computer development
Since the 1990s the population of
Bracknell has grown considerably,
especially the number of 25-44yr olds
(who constitute 36% of the population)
- so there has been an increase in the
working population, many of whom are
skilled workers

Close to Universities with courses

specialising in computer technology
e.g Royal Holloway and Brunel,
within a 30km radius of Bracknell

Why have hi-tech industries located in Bracknell? (location

factors!)

3. Excellent Leisure Facilities

-

top high-tech executives/ skilled workers are in demand, so

companies have to locate in attractive areas with lots of leisure
facilities to lure the best workers

-hi-tech workers receive high salaries, have short working weeks and
many work flexi-time so they have time and money to spend on
leisure facilities
SPORTS: John Nike dry ski slope, Coral Reef leisure Centre
rugby and football clubs, bowling at The Point
RECREATION: Windsor Great Park;
Look Out Country Park (forested area for walks, cycling, picnics)
Chilterns hills to the north of Bracknell;
Salisbury Plain and Wiltshire Downs to the south of
Bracknell

ARTS: South Hill Park Arts Centre puts on theatrical performances.

TASK: design a tourist leaflet of:
Things to do in Bracknell!

Why have hi-tech industries located in Bracknell? (location

factors!)

4. Accommodation and Conference

Facilities
-

Bracknells numerous hotels (eg. Coppid Beach Hotel) cater for

executives who fly over from TNCs head offices
Hotels also have conference facilities where TNCs can hold
meetings and training courses

http://www.coppidbeech.com/gallery.html
NOTE! The office complexes of these high-tech firms are very impressive with
landscaping and car parking to create a pleasant working environment and
attract highly skilled workers.

Learning Objective
To study the factors that have attracted Fiat, a transnational company
(TNC), to Brazil
Learning Outcome
To be able to describe and explain the specific factors that affect the
location of Fiat in Brazil.
What is a TNC?
A TNC is a Transnational Company which operates
globally. This means that although they have their
headquarters in their country of origin, they have branch
plants all over the world.
Fiat is an Italian company
It operates in 64 countries
Revenues exceed 83 billion euros

FIAT: Betim, Brazil

Where is Betim?
Betim is part of the
industrial belt of Belo
Horizonte, the capital
of Minas Gerais, a
prosperous state in
South East Brazil

Fiat is not the only TNC which has branch plants

in Brazil!

Volkswgen (German)
have a factory in Sao
Paulo

Fiat have a
factory in
Betim

General Motors
(US) have a
factory in Sao
Paulo

Using map evidence explain why Fiat decided to locate their factory in Beti

FIAT: Betim,
Brazil

1976 Fiat plant opened in

Betim
-10, 000 employees
-130,000 cars produced
annually
1990s
Fiat invested $1.5 bn updating
the plant and developing the
Palio and Tipo cars
-Now employs 12,000 workers
-650,000 cars produced
annually

Fiat would have a

guaranteed market
within Brazil and could
supply cars to other
South American
countries. Brazils
economy is growing, so
more and more people
want to buy cars good
news for Fiat!

The state of Minas Gervas offered

loans, grants (they gave Fiat 50% of
the initial investment needed) and
cheap land, so Fiat could build and
operate a factory at low cost.

Why did Fiat

locate in
Brazil?
In the 1970s Brazil had a
strong military government,
therefore strike action was
unlikely. Employees still have a
good work ethic as good jobs
are scarce. For every person
hired there are four others
waiting for a job

Brazilian Government
wanted to develop a motor
industry to bring long-term
employment, leading to an
expansion in the car market.

Large pool of workers

available, who would work for
low wages. They are paid $7 an
hour. Factory workers in the UK
are paid 12 an hour

TASK: Memory skills! Listen carefully to the information about the new
factory in Brazil

Another new Fiat factory in

Brazil!

November 2000
Fiat opened a new $240
million plant at Sete Lagoas

The new factory is a joint venture between Iveco, who make trucks and Fiat who make
Ducato vans

Currently Fiat has a 9% share of the light van market in Brazil; it hopes to
increase its share of the market to 15% by 2001.

Why has Fiat expanded in

Brazil?

DEMAN
D

Fiat thinks that there will be an increase

in demand for vans/ trucks in Brazil in
the next few years (2.2 mn in 2003). If
these cars are produced within the
country, Fiat will save on transport costs
and import duties

The state of Minas Gerais contributed $135 million towards

the building of the new factory (over half of the
construction cost)

Fiat predicted that the market for vans in

North America and Europe would remain
constant.