Explore & Discover

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

There are no set requirements, but some employers may ask for a marketing, business or finance degree.

Other employers will want you to have strong numerical skills and experience in retail, especially an understanding and interest in stock control levels.

The Fashion Retail Academy runs a number of short courses like a 3-day Introduction to Merchandising.

The Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply also has details of procurement and supply qualifications.

Both graduates and non-graduates need to apply for entry-level posts, usually as an allocator, distributor or merchandise administrative assistant. 

Doing a college course in retail operations or fashion retail could help you prepare for this job.

You could also get into the retail industry through an apprenticeship.

Retail Careers and The Retail Appointment has more information on how to become a retail merchandiser.

2. Skills required

You’ll need:

excellent number and data analysis skills, using spreadsheets and computer modelling

good decision-making skills

an understanding of what motivates customers to buy products

confidence when leading negotiations or presenting at board meetings

good interpersonal and communication skills to build useful working relationships

strong leadership skills and ability to influence others

excellent organisational and planning skills with ability to prioritise

3. What you'll do

You’ll use your high levels of product and customer awareness to predict demand. 

You’ll usually specialise in one area like fashion, food or home wares.

Your day-to-day duties might include:

planning product ranges and stock plans with buyers

planning budgets, forecasting sales and profit margins

presenting forecasts to managers

visiting manufacturers with retail buyers to learn about production cycles

negotiating prices and orders with suppliers, and agreeing delivery terms

tracking stock deliveries, making sure goods arrive on time and meet quality standards

setting prices and sales targets for individual stores

helping visual merchandisers to plan store layouts to promote key lines

promoting special offers and marketing initiatives

analysing sales figures and trends

staying aware of how competitors are performing

identifying and sorting out production and supply problems

managing, training and supervising staff

You may be called a product manager in a large retail chain and deal only with one or two product lines. In smaller companies you may be responsible for both buying and merchandising.

4. Salary

Starter: £16,000 to £18,000

Experienced: £22,000 and £25,000

Highly Experienced: £40,000 to £60,000

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You’ll usually work between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. You may need to work longer at busy times, like during special sales promotions or the opening of a new store.

You’ll be office-based but will also spend time visiting stores or suppliers, which could be in other parts of the UK or overseas. 

A driving licence and vehicle may be useful.

6. Career path and progression

You could be promoted to senior merchandiser and responsible for sales and budgetary control of a multimillion-pound department and managing a team of people. It’s typical to have reached senior merchandiser level within 7 to 8 years.

You could also become a merchandise manager, head of merchandising, merchandising director, retail business analyst or self-employed retail consultant.

Role Description

You'll need

• excellent driving skills and knowledge of traffic regulations
• good customer service and clear communication skills
• an assertive but polite approach to difficult passengers
• good geographical knowledge
• If you travel abroad, you'll also need an understanding of overseas traffic laws and some basic foreign language skills.

What you'll do

• You could work for local bus companies, long distance operators, or holiday tour companies in the UK or overseas.
• You could also work in community transport, driving schoolchildren, hospital patients and older people to their destinations.

Your day-to-day duties may include:

• taking fares
• checking tickets and passes
• giving timetable or route information
• helping passengers who are having difficulty getting on or off the vehicle
• driving safely and keeping to timetables
• If you're a coach driver, your duties may also include:
• greeting passengers and checking documents
• loading and unloading luggage
• making announcements during the journey
• making sure passengers are back on board for return journeys, and after scheduled stops
• keeping the coach clean and doing basic vehicle checks
• recording driving hours and reporting any incidents
• If you drive to overseas destinations, you’ll need to keep passengers up to date with travel information and deal with border control authorities.

Role Description

Magazine Journalist:

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

• going to meetings to plan the content of the magazine 
• suggesting ideas for articles 
• interviewing and researching to collect information for articles 
• writing articles to suit the magazine’s style 
• keeping up-to-date with developments and trends in the magazine's subject area 
• working as a critic, reviewing things like films, food or concerts

Newspaper Journalist

You could be reporting on council meetings and school fêtes for a local paper, or on general elections and world events for the national press.

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

• investigating a story as soon as it breaks
• following up potential leads and developing new contacts
• interviewing people face-to-face and over the phone
• attending press conferences
• recording meetings and interviews using recording equipment or shorthand
• coming up with ideas for stories and features
• writing up articles in a style that will appeal to the reader
• sub-editing other reporters' articles for publication
• writing up articles for online publication

Broadcast Journalist

You could be reporting on council meetings and school fêtes for a local paper, or on general elections and world events for the national press.

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

• investigating a story as soon as it breaks
• following up potential leads and developing new contacts
• interviewing people face-to-face and over the phone
• attending press conferences
• recording meetings and interviews using recording equipment or shorthand
• coming up with ideas for stories and features
• writing up articles in a style that will appeal to the reader
• sub-editing other reporters' articles for publication
• writing up articles for online publication

Role Description

You'll need:

• the ability to inspire and motivate
• the ability to manage classes and deal with challenging behaviour
• creativity to design activities and materials
• IT, organisational and planning skills​​
  

What you'll do

Most teaching jobs are in state schools and academies, but you could also work in independent schools, pupil referral units and hospitals. You could also register with an agency to provide ‘supply’ cover for other teachers. 

You'll teach at key stage 3 (ages 11 to 14) and key stage 4 (ages 15 to 16). You may also teach in a sixth form (ages 16 to 19).

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

• planning and preparing lessons
• teaching your specialist subject
• creating a safe learning environment
• setting and marking essays and exams
• checking students’ progress
• developing new courses and teaching materials
• classroom administration and record keeping
• attending meetings and training courses

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

You’ll need a degree or postgraduate qualification and several years’ relevant experience, for example in engineering, chemistry or medicine.

You’ll also need to understand research methods, data analysis and development processes.

2. Skills required

You’ll need:

the ability to solve problems

leadership and motivational skills

project management skills

communications skills

IT skills

3. What you'll do

Your day-to-day duties may include: 

recruiting staff

assessing staff performance

coordinating the team’s work

analysing data and presenting results

making sure work meets safety standards and other relevant legislation

managing budgets

reporting to senior managers

4. Salary

Starter: £25,000 to £32,000

Experienced: £34,000 to £50,000

Highly Experienced: £55,000 to £65,000 or more

You may receive a bonus and profit share on top of your basic salary.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You’ll usually work up to 40 hours a week.

You could be based in a factory, laboratory or a university. There may be some travel to meetings and conferences, and this could be overseas.

6. Career path and progression

With experience in industry, you could become a senior project manager or research director. 

In higher education, you could become a senior research fellow or professor.

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

There are no set requirements, but it’s common to have a qualification in a relevant subject like:

logistics

international transport

supply chain management

transport management

geography

You could also start in a more junior role like transport clerk and work your way up.

Skills for Logistics and the The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) have more information about careers in supply chain management.

2. Skills required

You'll need:

planning and organisational skills

the ability to motivate and lead a team

spoken and written communication skills

problem-solving and maths skills

good geographical knowledge

If your employer operates overseas it may be useful to speak a foreign language.

3. What you'll do

Supply chains are made up of different operations, from forecasting trends and buying through to transport and distribution. 

Depending on which part of the supply chain you're in, your day-to-day tasks may include:

working with procurement managers and buyers to select products that are in demand and will sell

negotiating and managing contracts with suppliers

planning the best way to get goods from suppliers to distribution centres and retailers

tracking shipments and stock levels using computer software

working with retailers to make sure they receive their goods on time and in the right condition

looking at ways to improve supply chain networks

monitoring overall performance to make sure targets are met

preparing forecasts and inventories

recruiting, training and managing a team of supply chain staff

You might also be involved in brand and marketing planning.

4. Salary

Starter: £20,000 to £25,000

Experienced: £25,000 and £45,000

Highly Experienced: Up to £60,000

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You’ll usually work 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. You may work evenings and weekends on a rota basis, or be available on-call to deal with emergencies. Some companies run 24-hour operations involving shift work.

You’ll usually be office-based but would travel to meet clients. This could include travel overseas.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could progress to senior planning jobs and consultancy work.

Role Description

Entry requirements

There are no set requirements. You’ll need good computer skills to keep records systems up to date. You’ll also need to be good with numbers and able to work as part of a team.

Previous experience in stock control, retail or office admin would be helpful.

You could get into this job by doing a supply chain, retail or warehousing apprenticeship.

Skills required

You’ll need:

good communication skills
customer service skills
good time management
the ability to work quickly under pressure
a high level of attention to detail

What you'll do

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

processing orders
making sure paperwork is correctly filled out
checking stock levels and ordering new stock
updating stock information on computer systems
receiving deliveries
making sure orders are despatched on time
answering customer enquiries online, over the phone and face-to-face
carrying out spot checks and audits
Your job may also include other duties like forklift driving or serving customers over the counter.

You’ll work in places like shops, warehouses and distribution centres.

Salary

Starter: £13,500 to £18,000

Experienced: £20,000 to 23,000 (supervisors)

Highly Experienced: up to £30,000 (managers)

These figures are a guide.

Working hours, patterns and environment

You’re likely to work shifts if you’re in a warehouse or distribution centre. You’ll have more regular hours if you’re in a shop or other retail outlet.
 
You may have to work in low temperatures in some jobs, for example in a frozen food warehouse, but your employer will supply you with suitable clothing.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could become a stock supervisor or manager. At this level, you would lead a team, forecast stock levels and work closely with suppliers. 

You could also work as a retail buyer, looking at consumer trends and selecting which products your company will sell.

Role Description

You'll specialise in anything from electronics, domestic appliances and machinery to company services and web apps.

Your day-to-day duties could include:

• discussing what your client wants
• investigating how existing products work or how services are used
• developing ideas and making initial sketches or outline plans
• deciding on suitable materials or resources
• using computer design software to produce detailed blueprints
• making samples or working models, known as prototypes
• testing and refining designs

You'll need:

• creative ideas and a logical approach 
• the ability to express your ideas through drawings, 3D models and computer-aided design
• the ability to plan and organise a project through several stages
• the ability to work out costings and budgets