Industry Sectors

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

There are no set requirements, but GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths will help. 

Office experience could also help you get a job.

You could get into this job through an apprenticeship.

2. Skills required

You'll need:

• IT skills
• typing accuracy and speed
• efficient time management skills

3. What you'll do

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

• entering personal details of customers into a database
• entering information for classified adverts in a newspaper
• transferring paper-based market research results
• updating patients' medical records
• processing invoices

4. Salary

Starter: £12,000 to £15,000

Experienced: £16,000 to £20,000

Highly Experienced: £21,000 to £25,000

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

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

You'll spend most of your time at a computer in an office.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could become a su

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

1. Entry requirements

You'll usually need GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) or A levels, as well as experience or industry qualifications.

You could study for a foundation degree, HND or degree which includes quality control options, for example in production management.

You could get into this job as an apprentice and work your way up to a quality control job.

2. Skills required

You'll need:

• the ability to use your technical knowledge to design policies
• organisational skills

3. What you'll do

You could work in many industries. You'll usually work in a team supervised by a quality manager.

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

• dealing with customer feedback and complaints
• assessing and rating suppliers
• designing, reviewing and updating quality control policies
• training new staff
• producing reports

You'll also have duties specific to your industry. For example, in manufacturing and engineering this could include:

• finding and fixing faults at each stage of the production process
• testing samples in a lab
• making sure labelling is accurate
• checking that production methods meet legislation guidelines
• inspecting materials for defects and using methods like non-destructive testing (NDT)

4. Salary

Starter: £12,500 to £15,000

Experienced: £18,000 to £25,000

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You'll usually work 35 to 40 hours, Monday to Friday. In manufacturing, you may need to work evening and weekend shifts.

You could work in an office, laboratory or factory production area.

6. Career path and progression

With experience and training you could move into supervisory, management or research jobs.

Role Description

As a Data Quality and Insights Manager you will be accountable for ensuring the integrity of the data, production of actionable insight reports, timely delivery of client-specific data solutions, and syndicated data products. 

This role is focused on providing commercially viable channel-specific insights to the independent convenience channel participants (FMCG manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers) through gathering and synthesising EPoS and other relevant data. 

This role is a great step forward for an experienced Analyst looking for the next step in their career with a company who can match ambition through continued growth and development of the current role. 

Role Description

Entry requirements

You don't always need qualifications to become a web designer, but you’ll usually need to show that you’ve got skills in:

visual design
UX (user experience)
SEO (search engine optimisation), marketing and social media
using coding software like HTML and CSS
using design software like Photoshop and Illustrator
You may also find it useful to have basic photo editing and copywriting skills.

Some employers will expect you to have a portfolio of work to show them, like websites you've worked on.

Colleges offer a wide range of courses, and there are lots of free online tutorials.

You could also take a college or higher education course in a web design or multimedia subject.

You may be able to get into this role through an apprenticeship.

Tech Future Careers has more information on tech roles including web design. 

The UK Web Design Association (UKWDA) and Bubble Jobs have more information about becoming a web designer.

Skills required

You’ll need:

strong creative skills
the ability to pay attention to detail
good problem-solving skills and a logical approach to work
the ability to explain technical matters clearly
an ability to work to deadlines

What you'll do

You could work on any kind of website, from education to shopping. You’ll often be responsible for managing the design of your client’s other online services like mobile applications, social media accounts and digital marketing campaigns.

Your day-to-day duties might include:
meeting clients to discuss what they want their site to do
preparing a design plan
deciding which branding, text, colours and backgrounds to use
laying out pages and positioning buttons, links and pictures using design software
adding multimedia features like sound, animation and video
testing and improving the design and site
uploading the site to a server
You’ll work closely with web developers and marketing professionals.

Salary

Starter: £18,000 to £24,000

Experienced: £25,000 to £40,000 (more in senior roles)

Self-employed web designers set their own rates.

These figures are a guide.

Working hours, patterns and environment

You’ll normally work 37 hours a week, Monday to Friday. You may have to work extra hours to meet deadlines or when there are problems with a website. 

If you’re self-employed, you’ll set your own working hours.

You’ll work indoors in an office or in your own home at a computer. You may spend some of your time travelling to meet clients.

Career path and progression

With experience you could move into design team management or expand your skills to become a web content manager. 

You might work towards a move into business management.

You could also work as a freelance web designer, or set up your own web design business.

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

There are no set requirements, but experience of working in an office or call centre could help.

For some sales jobs, such as technical or pharmaceutical sales, you may need to have a relevant qualification like a degree.

You could get into this job through an apprenticeship.

2. Skills required

You'll need:

• excellent customer service and communication skills
• the ability to sell and negotiate
• IT and presentation skills

3. What you'll do

You'll specialise in a particular industry, like consumer goods or energy. You may sell directly to consumers, or to other businesses. 

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

• contacting new and existing customers
• making presentations to promote new products
• agreeing sales, prices and delivery
• keeping in contact with customers before and after a sale
• recording orders
• going to conferences to understand industry trends
• meeting sales targets

4. Salary

Starter: £15,000 to £20,000

Experienced: £25,000 to £35,000

Highly Experienced: £40,000 to £50,000 (sales executive or manager)

You'll usually get a basic salary and an extra amount for each sale (commission). You may also get a bonus if you meet targets.

You may get a company car and fuel allowance.

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You'll usually work 38 to 40 hours, Monday to Friday, but may need to work evenings or weekends. Occasionally you'll stay away overnight, or travel abroad to trade fairs and conferences.

You may drive to visit customers. When not on the road, you'll work from a sales office or call centre. Sometimes you’ll work from home. You’ll usually need a driving licence and may need a passport.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could become a sales team leader or an area sales manager.

The Institute of Sales Management (ISM) could help you develop your career.

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

You'll need:

• excellent analytical skills
• the ability to work with people at all levels
• the ability to lead and motivate a team
• the ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines
• the ability to anticipate issues and respond to unforeseen changes

You’ll work with senior managers and other professionals to support changes to the way an organisation works, like:

• improving decision-making processes
• supporting the introduction of a new IT system
• developing a marketing and sales strategy
• Your day-to-day duties might include:
• speaking to managers to find out what they want to achieve
• carrying out fact finding tasks into business processes to see what they do and how they do it
• analysing findings and using data modelling methods to help recommend changes and improvements
• explaining the benefits of your recommendations and looking at the potential impact and risks
• agreeing the best way to put recommended changes into place with management
• overseeing testing and quality checks of recommendations
• supporting staff making changes and reporting any issues
• In some cases, you may be responsible for managing a project through to completion.