Finding the right job can be difficult at the best of times if you don’t know where to start. Does having the right kind of qualifications matter? Does your background or history come in to play? And what’s the chances of a robot taking over a job you’ve just qualified for?
The working world can become daunting, but there are fields where demand is growing across the UK; from the need for teachers in London to the need for butchers in Ballymena.
We thought it would be a great idea to see what industries right now are crying out for attention from skilled people who may not know where to look. We narrowed down a list of 10 industries to look at and why there’s a growing need for people to get involved.
The 10 job areas we’ve found to be in high demand are:
- Teachers
- Tradespeople
- Stem (for females)
- Project Managers
- Agri Food
- Sports Therapists
- Cyber Security
- Engineers
- Chefs
- Sales
Teachers
Even with the internet giving us access to as much information as we could possibly want, without someone there to teach us what we need to know, people still need a good education.
Teaching is seemingly immune right now to automation, and with more people in the future being led towards specialist jobs, schools and places of higher education still need teaching staff.
The highest demand right now are in our cities, where teacher dropout rates seem to keep growing. Recent findings by the government saw that in London alone nearly half of all newly qualified teachers drop out of the career within five years of starting out.
Tradespeople
Even though the robots are taking over, and factory based jobs are on a decline, the need for tradespeople in the UK remains steady.
Jobs such as joiners, carpenters, decorators, bricklayers and mechanics are going nowhere in the near future and demand for new faces in the industry remains incredibly high.
STEM (for females)
Stem Graduates puts the current rate of females working within STEM occupations at 13% in the UK. A large part of this was down to employers not actively seeking female candidates for roles. The demand for equality across industries has seen the focus on STEM for females skyrocket in recent years.
It’s quickly becoming a very lucrative line of work for young girls who take to the likes of engineering (more on that below) and maths as viable careers, with groups like STEM Women trying to bridge that gap.
Project Managers
Project management is an area that has exploded in recent years as the role has gone from being industry specific to acknowledged by most as a transferable career.
Recruitment companies like Empiric have noted that fintech and finance are two of the biggest sectors in need of project managers, thanks to the growth of contactless payment companies and banks becoming more integrated to push services online rather than have them in bricks and mortar stores.
Agri-Food
One of the biggest stumbling blocks around Brexit has been in the agriculture industry, especially for those based in Northern Ireland where it is its biggest industry. NI Direct has said that the industry is severely lacking those to fill places in food production, going all the way from food scientists to supply chain managers.
The last few years have seen a swell of younger people going abroad for work after higher level education, so younger roles right now are very easy to get if you’re looking for a job in the sector.
Sports Therapists
Fitness is arguably in its biggest level of popularity ever right now. People have no problem wearing their activewear when outside of the gym. We’re trying out things like CrossFit and HIIT exercises to combat the fatigue of office jobs, and the idea of wellness is front and centre or healthy living.
Within that sphere, there is a growing demand for sports therapists to help all of us who’ve gone too hard at the gym or need help with nagging injuries. It’s one of the better small businesses for a trained professional to get involved in, as it usually has a lower running cost and is based on retaining clients for long periods.
Cyber Security
Everyone has a computer in their pocket, whether or not they view their mobile phone as such. And with the majority of us spending most of our days online, there is a growing demand for cybersecurity jobs.
We need websites and apps to remain as safe as possible, with the demand for cybersecurity specialists on the rise. Within education, finance, retail, insurance and transport companies are calling out for roles to be filled to help make day to day life online as risk-free as possible. Even with big companies like Facebook and Amazon recently having had customer details exposed, it’s only going to get more popular.
Engineers
As recently as January 2019, the Royal Academy of Engineering estimates there’s an annual shortfall of 59,000 engineers in the UK as young people have not been receptive to be led into the industry.
That shortfall is contributing to a widening pool of problems within the engineering industry, with many having gone into consultancy or accountancy (i.e. office jobs) instead. For anyone studying engineering right now, jobs at home are going to get more popular over the next few years.
Chefs
There’s been a big shift in the last ten years when it comes to disposable income. It used to be that we would save to buy big ticket items like TVs, mobile phones and holidays. As technology has evolved though, that price has dropped dramatically. And with it, people are more inclined to use their disposable income on experiences, especially dining out.
The “experience economy” has seen dramatic growth and with restaurant numbers growing, the demand for chefs is too. There is one stumbling block for many though; chefs don’t have a terrific salary, and even with the long hours, most on average don’t earn more than £25,000.
Sales
If there’s something to be made, then there’s something to be sold.
Sales remains one of the biggest industries in the UK for turnover, and that means there’s always going to be a slew of jobs on the table. While call centre based retention jobs remaining steady, there’s also growth within the subscription-based sales model. You’ll have seen companies offering subscription sales on everything from razors to meal prep, and as more people get comfortable with deliveries as opposed to hitting the high street, demand will keep growing.
Finding the right job in 2019
If you are wondering what opportunities are currently out there for you, visit The Herald Jobs Section. We have new listings added every day, helping local employers match with skilled people.
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