Yes, very much so..
1 - select ship
2 - Hit 'f'
3 - Scroll down
4 - Hit 'Orders'
You have many options like attack enemies, mine, scrap, etc... Just choose which one you want it to do..
I like to use 'fighters' on my Escort 'Carrier' to mine and scrap. With 5 full squads of mid-range mining 'fighters' I can clear a sector in no time.
This leaves me free to fight or explore some surrounding sectors...