Soap opera factories are full of "working-class people doing repetitive badly paid work at the mercy of an autocratic sexist boss," according to a report published by the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education in the United Kingdom.
The report said students think manufacturing is "boring, dirty and smelly", and blamed Coronation Street and BBC drama Clocking Off for these attitudes.
Coronation Street's Underworld knicker factory, run by Mike Baldwin, came in for particular criticism.
Professor Mike Scott, Newi's chief executive, said: "I believe the way Underworld is portrayed is affecting our ability to attract students into manufacturing and engineering."
The institute cites figures from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) showing the number of students getting engineering-related degrees is falling.
The soap could be turning students off from skilled jobs in hi-tech industries, the report said.
A survey of teenagers by the institute found 96 percent of girls had not considered a manufacturing career, but 61 percent of boys had.
Some said they got their impressions from TV, particularly Coronation Street.
Professor Scott said: "Soaps are hugely influential and they know it. They should have a look at how clean and efficient most factories are now, and the real opportunities they offer for career advancement and international travel. I am begging the scriptwriters to consider making the factory more glamorous and successful. It would make a great storyline watching Danny Baldwin and Janice Battersby getting to grips with lean manufacturing techniques, or planning export tactics into other countries."
A spokeswoman for Coronation Street producers, Granada, said: "We are a drama which is there to entertain people, not a public service broadcast or a recruitment drive for any particular part of industry."
She added: "Contrary to what the report says, the factory seem to be a great fun place to work."
