Industry Sectors

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

You may find it useful to have GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) or equivalent, in subjects like English and maths.

A qualification in administration or secretarial skills may help. Employers also value experience, which you could get by temping or volunteering.

You could get into this job through an apprenticeship.

2. Skills required

You'll need:

• an excellent telephone manner
• skills in IT and administration
• the ability to use your initiative and solve problems
• organisational and time management skills
• 3. What you'll do
• You could work in the public or private sectors or for a charity.
• Your day-to-day tasks could include:
• being the first point of contact for visitors, phone calls and emails
• arranging meetings and taking minutes
• diary management and making travel arrangements 
• producing letters, reports, spreadsheets and invoices
• updating records on IT systems
• photocopying, printing and filing
• handling confidential information

4. Salary

Starter: £14,000 to £16,000

Experienced: £17,000 to £20,000

Highly Experienced: £25,000

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You'll usually work in an office, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

You could also work part-time or get temporary work.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could become a personal assistant or office manager.

You could also move into human resources work, or train as a legal or medical secretary.

Role Description

Skills required

You’ll need:

• the ability to concentrate for long periods
• a good level of accuracy and attention to detail 
• an enquiring mind and good problem-solving skills 
• the ability to lead a research and development team 
• strong spoken and written communication skills 
• empathy and understanding when working directly with patients

What you'll do

You’ll usually work in a laboratory, testing and analysing biological samples. 

You’ll specialise in one of these areas:

• infection sciences 
• blood sciences 
• cellular sciences
• Depending on your chosen area, your duties could include:
• testing for diseases like Legionnaires’ disease and food poisoning 
• screening and testing for infectious diseases like rubella or hepatitis 
• analysing blood for disease and monitoring organ function 
• supporting the blood transfusion and transplant service through blood grouping and matching 
• screening for blood abnormalities and diseases, like anaemia and leukaemia 
• processing and analysing tissue samples from operations and autopsies 
• using specialist procedures like cell culture to detect cancer 
• routine testing of fluid and tissue samples like cervical smear tests 
• updating paperwork or computerised systems with data and test results
• You’ll also be involved in carrying out new research, and will support junior staff and technicians.

Role Training

You’ll need:

1. an Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) accredited BSc (Hons) degree 
2. at least one year’s experience at an approved laboratory - during this time you’ll work towards completion of the Registration Training Portfolio for the Certificate of Competence awarded by IBMS 
3. registration as a biomedical scientist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
4. You may be able to get into biomedical science as a trainee. You'll usually need at least 2 A levels in science or a related subject. Places are sponsored by employers like the NHS and are advertised as trainee biomedical scientist positions. You'd work and study towards an accredited degree. 

Role Description

Entry requirements

There are no set requirements. You’ll be expected to have relevant office skills, like email, using the internet and computer packages like Excel. 

Good maths skills are important, and some employers may also expect you to have GCSEs (A* to C), or equivalent.

Experience in payroll isn’t always essential, but a background in bookkeeping and accounts could help improve your job prospects. 

The International Association of Book-keepers (IAB) and The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) offer introductory courses in bookkeeping and payroll.

You could also get into this job through an apprenticeship.

Skills required

You’ll need:

confidence with numbers
good spoken and written communication skills
a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
good organisational and time management skills

What you'll do

You’ll work in a company’s accounts team, or for a payroll bureau that provides payroll services for other companies. You may work to strict payment deadlines.

Your day-to-day duties will usually include:

checking how many hours employees have worked
calculating and issuing pay by cash, cheque or electronic transfer
deducting tax and national insurance payments
processing holiday, sick and maternity pay, and expenses
calculating overtime, shift payments and pay increases
answering staff queries about timesheets or pay slips
issuing P45s and other tax forms
You may also work with your company’s human resources department, and be expected to do general administrative work like filing, photocopying and typing.

Salary

Starter: £15,000 to £18,000

Experienced: £20,000 to £26,000

Highly Experienced: £28,000

These figures are a guide.

Working hours, patterns and environment

You’ll usually work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Part-time and temporary work are available.

You’ll usually be based in an office, and spend most of your time working at a computer.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could progress to payroll supervisor or manager.

Role Description

1.Entry Requirements

There are no set entry requirements. A good standard of general education is important but employers will also want you to have an outgoing and confident personality.

Previous experience in customer service, sales or marketing will be helpful though not essential.

You could get into this career through an apprenticeship.

The Institute of Sales Management (ISM) is the industry body offering qualifications to help you progress in your career.

2. Skills required

You’ll need:

• excellent communication skills to build trust with customers quickly 
• sales and negotiation skills 
• IT skills 
• a well organised approach 
• determination and a focus

3. What you'll do

You’ll be:  

• contacting customers and businesses 
• promoting products, services and special deals 
• following up sales leads and taking orders 
• updating customer records on computer systems 
• advising customers about delivery times 
• setting up appointments for senior sales staff 
• providing after-sales service

4. Salary

Starter: £15,000 to £18,000

Experienced: £20,000 to £25,000

Highly Experienced: £25,000 to £35,000 (managers)

Some companies offer a basic salary with extra bonuses and commission linked to sales targets.

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You’ll usually work up to 40 hours a week on shifts between 8am and 10pm, Monday to Saturday.

You’ll be based in an office or call centre and spend most of your time using a computer. Some companies offer homeworking.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could become a team leader, senior salesperson or sales manager. 

Role Description

You'll work in:

• a 'third party' collection agency, paid to collect debts from businesses or individuals, or
• a company's finance or credit department, chasing late payments from suppliers and customers

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

• contacting individuals or business customers when payment is overdue
• checking credit records and tracing missing debtors
• setting up repayment plans and working with debt counsellors
• setting up and maintaining customer files
• processing payments
• starting legal proceedings if debts are not paid within an agreed time
• liaising with solicitors and bailiffs
• You may work at a debt collection agency as a 'field collector', travelling to debtors to collect payments in person.

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

You'll need a level 3 electrical or electro-technical qualification. You'll need to complete this qualification while you're working in a related job. 

A common way to get into this job is through an apprenticeship. An apprenticeship will give you a level 3 qualification.

Taking a level 1 or level 2 qualification in electrical installation may help you to find an apprenticeship or get a trainee position.

Electrical Careers has more information on how to become an electrician.

2. Skills required

You'll need:

practical skills

the ability to follow technical drawings, building plans and wiring diagrams

the ability to work carefully, methodically and safely

planning and organisational skills

problem-solving skills

3. What you'll do

You'll work in range of areas, from bringing power to people's homes to big engineering projects. You may also work with renewable technology, like wind turbines, 'smart' heating systems and solar power.

Your work will depend on the type of electrician you are:

installation electrician - installing power systems, lighting, fire protection, security and data-network systems in all types of buildings

maintenance electrician - checking systems to make sure they're working efficiently and safely

electrotechnical panel builder - making and installing control panels to operate the electrical systems inside buildings

machine repair and rewind electrician - fixing and maintaining electrical motors and transformers

highway systems electrician - installing and maintaining street lighting and traffic management systems

You may also supervise other people in a team.

4. Salary

Starter: £18,000 to £23,000

Experienced: £25,000 to £35,000

Highly Experienced: Up to £42,000

You could get bonuses and overtime pay. There are national rates for travelling time, travel expenses and accommodation costs.

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You'll usually work 30 to 40 hours, Monday to Friday. You may work shifts or be on call.

You may have to travel between jobs and work away from home.

You may have to work around other trades. You may have to work in all weathers, in cramped spaces or at height.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could move into design engineering, site or project management, consultancy work or training.

You could also set up your own business.

Role Description

Skills required

You'll need:

• excellent organisational, planning and time management skills
• leadership, and communication skills
• the ability to negotiate and influence
• budgeting skills
• IT skills for using project management software
• the ability to use initiative and work under pressure

What you'll do

You could work on different types of project in almost any industry or sector like construction, IT or the NHS. You might be managing a large building development, introducing a new computer system or developing a new advertising campaign. 

You'll be:

• finding out what the client or business wants to achieve
• agreeing timescales, costs and resources
• drawing up a plan for each project stage
• negotiating with contractors and suppliers
• choosing and leading a project team
• constantly monitoring progress, quality and costs
• reporting regularly to senior managers and the client
• using specialised software and spreadsheets for planning, costing and analysing risks

Role Training

While you're working, you could study for an industry qualification like PRINCE2 or Agile.

You could also get professional qualifications through:

Association for Project Management (APM)

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

Project Management Institute (PMI)

If you're working in the IT industry, you could get a certificate in project management through The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS).

With experience, you could move into senior management or become a freelance consultant.

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

There are no set requirements, but you’ll need a good level of general education. You'll also need a working knowledge of computer software and hardware.

A college course in computing or IT support, and experience in customer service, will help. 

You could get into this job through an apprenticeship.

If you work with young people or vulnerable adults, you’ll need clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

2. Skills required

You'll need:

• excellent customer service skills
• the ability to explain technical issues to non-technical users
• analysis and problem-solving skills
• the ability to prioritise and manage tasks

3. What you'll do

You may work in-house with an organisation’s staff, students or customers. You may also work in a call centre advising the public by phone, email or online chat.

In some roles, you’ll be responsible for telephony and audio-visual equipment as well as IT systems.

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

• communicating with computer users to find and fix problems 
• tracking work in progress and recording issues and solutions 
• updating online knowledge banks
• servicing and fixing equipment, including printers, projectors and networks
• setting up new equipment and upgrading existing systems
• training people on new systems, face-to-face and online

4. Salary

Starter: £16,000 to £22,000

Experienced: £22,000 to £24,000

Highly Experienced: £25,000 to £35,000

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You'll usually work 35 to 40 hours a week. You may have to work shifts, including evenings and weekends.

You'll work in an office and spend a lot of your time at a computer.

You may have to travel to different sites to help users. A driving licence may be required.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could move into a supervisory or management role.

With training, you could move into network engineering, database administration, business or systems analysis, IT security, IT project management, training or technical sales.