See Your Career Bloom in a Booming Industry

It’s hard to feel like anything is booming or blooming right now –except for the blossom trees. However, nature’s a great reminder that, even in these grey days of strikes, inflation and increasing interest rates, for some businesses, the sap is rising and prosperity is just round the corner!

But are these industries features of a familiar landscape or do they signal a future that’s responding to major societal change? Between March 2020 and June 2021 Covid swept across the nation, bringing various degrees of lockdown. This imposed a new way of living and forced adaptations that brought some advantages to our post-lockdown lives. So, by January 2023 when the World Health Organisation announced the pandemic had moved into a ‘transition’ phase, we’d already integrated new ways to manage our daily and working routines and businesses that enable and respond to these changes are flourishing. Five of the top business growth sectors you may not have considered before could bring you job opportunities:

Fintech

Fintech is neatly described by Investopedia as ‘New tech that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services’. Apart from revolutionising our everyday financial habits through apps and online payment services, Fintech reaches beyond retail banking into sectors such as education, insuretech, fundraising, and nonprofits; transforming lending platforms and developing cryptocurrencies as alternative non-physical payment options. Roles in Fintech include Paraplanner, Digital Partnerships Executive, Business Development Associate, Broker, Account Manager, and Network Engineer. Beauhurst has published a list of the top 50 UK Fintech companies and of course, there are international names such as Klarna and IBM.

Telehealth

Apart from enabling consultations during lockdowns, virtual appointments further the aim of moving care into the community, enabling patients to be seen at home while health professionals remain at the clinical base.  The Telehealth industry also invests in the development, sales, and delivery of digital options such as apps to monitor and collect data for conditions like diabetes and blood pressure, keeping patients informed, and collecting data for review by a professional at a later time. Telehealth roles include Population Health Data Scientist, Paralegal, Digital Prescriber, Sales Manager, and Monitoring Adviser - and London is hosting the Digital Health World Congress this year attended by major players in the field such as Astra Zeneca, NHS, Teva and HUMA, and other organisations including Cera, DnaNudge, and Lumeon.

Food, Beverages, and Takeaways

Food and drink is the UK's largest manufacturing industry accounting for 20% of the sector, and management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, reports the global food delivery market has tripled since 2017. KPMG recognises that the UK’s rise in spending on takeaways of 42% between 2019 – 2021 was driven by the closure of restaurants during Covid, it predicts that trends developed over this time are here to stay, despite the cost of living crisis. And with the embedding of user-friendly ordering apps and an increase in dark kitchens to cope with demands, IBISWorld predicts the fast food and takeaway industry is expected to rise a further 0.9% this year. Roles include Android Engineer, Supply Chain Co-ordinator, Food Lead, Sales Executive, Digital Activation Manager, Copy Writer, and Head of Digital Training and companies include Greencore, Just Eat, Deliveroo, Diageo, UberEats, Taster, J Sainsbury, and Robot Food.

Home Décor

With more people working at home and many of us ‘having a go’ at home projects during lockdowns it is no surprise that the Home Décor market is expanding. Mordor Intelligence notes that ‘Customers want products that add to their knowledge and sense of identity - and products that give meaning and significance to their experiences’ forecasting a compound annual growth rate of 5% over the next 5 years. Roles include Trade Marketing Manager, Colour Consultant, Junior Buyer, CRM Manager, Upholsterer, Design Architect, Interior Designer, and Furniture Restorer/Manufacturer. Dominant companies in the retail UK market include Ikea, Bed Bath & Beyond, Wayfair, DFS, and Dunelm supported by manufacturers such as Inter Ikea Group, Victoria PLC, Denby and Villeroy, and Bosch.

Green Energy

It would be easy to think otherwise but UK investment in renewables such as wind power, solar power biomass, and hydropower is happening and the sector continues to grow. Output is, unavoidably, influenced by weather conditions but by 2022 41.4% of the UK's energy came from renewable sources and included a record generation of electricity by offshore wind farms according to Energy Trends. By 2030 all new cars sold will be electric and, in 2021, the government issued two interim targets of running a net-zero power system and reducing emissions by 78% by 2025 on the way to its 2050 net zero target. Roles include Conservation Officer, Electric Car Engineer, Green Building Designer, Marine Biologist, Solar Panel Installer, and Wind Energy Technician top green stocks include SSE (multisource renewable energy provider), Greencoat UK Wind, ITM Power (clean hydrogen production) and Ceres Power (solid oxide cell technology).

So, if you want your career to thrive, plant it in the fertile ground of a booming industry and watch it grow! Students have free access to labour market information through The Career Centre and ft.com.  Need some help finding opportunities and applying?  The Employability Service offers individual appointments to discuss your needs with an adviser, including help with job searching and applications.

By Rebecca Pardue, Employability and Careers Adviser

Our Employability Service works with students throughout their time at ARU and after they graduate. The Service offers careers advice, online resources, and help with job searches, applications and interview preparation. Our Employability & Careers Advisers may mention some of these resources and services in their blogs, to give you an idea of the careers support that's on offer at ARU. Some of these resources sit behind a log in and can only be accessed by current students.