You may have heard of a term called “LMI” or “Labour Market Information” used in school or college. For those who may be unsure what this term actually means, allow us to explain. Labour Market Information (LMI) is a useful tool to help research future jobs in the local area, understand the skills needed for certain roles and the demand for future employment.
LMI helps to break down the complex ‘world of work’– ranging from descriptions of different careers, their entry routes, promotional prospects, salaries paid, skills and qualifications needed, etc. Crucially for young people, LMI also covers future demand – what kinds of jobs will be in demand after leaving school and what kinds of skills will be needed.
You can, and should, use LMI to research and plan your future career. If you don’t, you put yourself at risk of planning for a career that is in decline… One that may not exist by the time you actually come to enter the workplace!
Within this blog, we are going to explore what industries in the UK are growing, the ones that should be a pretty safe bet to train and become qualified within.
eCommerce: This is the process of buying and/or selling services or goods on the internet. An online shop would also be known as an eCommerce shop. In addition to the natural increase in technology and online services, we have also seen an increase in job roles within this sector due to COVID-19.
The lack of access to high street stores meant that eCommerce was our only option to purchase goods and even the older generation found themselves using Amazon to purchase any goods they required. During this time, brands who hadn’t mastered eCommerce sales and advertising had to find the right people with the skills to help them succeed in moving their offer online.
FinTech: FinTech is a relatively new industry that combines (you guessed it…) Finance and Technology. This would include things like online banking apps, cryptocurrencies and blockchain. As these areas grow and develop, more job roles will come up within this new and exciting industry.
To put the growth of this industry into perspective, a survey by the London Stock Exchange found that UK-based FinTech companies expect a staggering 88% growth between 2018 and 2021.
Logistics: If you speak to anyone working in the logistics industry, we are sure that they will agree with the fact that there are not nearly enough people coming into the logistics industry. In particular, HGV drivers. As lots of people are retiring from these roles, and with little people funneling in at the other end, companies are finding it hard to recruit people to drive their arctic trucks. As you can imagine, having lots of stock but no way to transport it to your stores is a big challenge!
In addition to these more hands-on logistics roles, the industry is also trying to keep up to date with technology and, therefore, roles such as data analysts, technology specialists and efficiency experts will be required to support this evolution.
Digital Advertising: You know when you’re scrolling through industry and you see an ad from a company you don’t even follow? That’s digital advertising. This sector has been growing for the last 10 years or so and has shown no signs of slowing. This is due to the fact that companies see such a high return on investment when using this marketing technology.
For example, a company could pay £250 to put an advertisement in a newspaper and they will never know how many people have seen it or shown any interest in what they offer. However, if that company put £250 towards an Instagram advertisement, they would be able to see how many people clicked through to their instagram page/website, who made an inquiry and how many sales they made. You can see why people with this skillset are so valuable to companies!
Energy: Contributing £26 billion to Britain’s economy, energy is a growing sector on all fronts. The most significant growth is in green energy. By 2020, the government’s plan was for 15% of all energy consumption to stem from renewable resources, which has spurred significant investment into UK-based sustainable energy companies. As a result, it’s estimated that the UK’s renewables industry could support up to 400,000 jobs by the end of 2021.
If you’re passionate about making a positive difference to the world’s climate change issue, energy could be a really great career path for you to consider.
A good way to try out these sectors, and more, is by taking part in work experience. To find current opportunities within these industries, make your NGTU profile and check out our current opportunities.