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10 in-demand career paths your child could choose
In this article, we highlight 10 jobs which are expected to increase in demand over the coming decade.
We used Nesta’s report The Future of Skills: Employment in 2030 and Prospects’ Luminate report 2019/20 to identify these 10 career paths which your child could pursue to increase their chances of a well-paid and secure work life.
'10 jobs which are expected to be in higher demand in 10 years' time'
Maths teacher
secondary teachers of all
Working in the classroom, maths teachers educate secondary students in the knowledge and skills they need to understand and use mathematics to solve problems. They must build relationships with students and learn to understand their individual needs.
Much of the UK teaching profession is in demand but maths teachers are among the most sought-after subject professionals. Because of the shortage of maths graduates in the teaching profession, many schools and colleges end up employing educators to teach maths who do not have a degree in the subject.
Sports nutritionist
Sport nutritionists make sure that athletes and other health-conscious people are consuming the right nutrients to power their performance. They consider people’s exercise levels, any dietary requirements and their sporting goals when creating nutrition plans.
Demand for health associate professionals, which includes nutritionists, is expected to grow by 10.7% in the UK to 2027. There’s growing awareness of the need to fuel your body correctly for exercise. The global sports nutrition sector is expected to grow at a rate of 8.9% a year to 2027.
Bioinformatician
This job blends computer science with biology. Bioinformaticians develop methods and software tools to help understand biological data. This is particularly useful in the pharmaceutical industry but has applications in many other sectors. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, governments may use bioinformatics to help them better understand the virus, for instance.
The global bioinformatics market is predicted to grow by 14.5% a year to 2023. In the UK, the government has pledged to increase public investment in life sciences R&D to £22 billion a year by 2024/25. The number of jobs for biological scientists is expected to increase by 5.9% in the UK to 2027.
Peripatetic music teacher
the government's decision to end Music Hubs
Peripatetic music teachers travel to different schools and colleges to provide students with one-to-one tuition for a particular instrument. They need to build a rapport with students, identify their individual strengths and weaknesses and develop tailored tuition plans.
Demand for peripatetic music tutors is high – however, the government’s recent decision to end its Music Hubs programme, which was providing music tuition to hundreds of thousands of students, may mean falling demand for teachers due to a lack of subsidies.
Urban planner
Urban planners develop the towns and urban environments of the future. They balance development and community needs with the environment when deciding which construction projects should happen where. They must think methodically and find solutions to issues with developments.
The number of urban planners is expected to grow by 7.2% up to 2027. At the same time, nearly 60% of the workforce is expected to retire, creating almost 16,000 jobs openings across the UK. As cities change dramatically to meet changing social and environmental needs – not to mention the need to physically distance should the Covid pandemic continue – the next decade is set to be an exciting time for urban planners.
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a doctor who takes care of people with mental issues. They assess, diagnose and treat patients, usually working in a team of health and social care professionals. Psychiatrists would support people with a very broad range of problems, including schizophrenia, depression, drug addiction, eating disorders, or phobias.
Research by the government suggests that demand for psychiatrists will increase steadily over the coming decade while the number of trained psychiatrists remains level or even falls slightly. This means qualified psychiatrists should benefit from better wages and conditions are their services are increasingly sought-after.
Green building designer
emergency - and we need people to design them
These professionals design buildings using sustainable materials and construction methods. They also make sure the buildings you design are energy efficient. They must stay up to date with the latest innovations and technology in the construction sector.
The UK government wants to halve the energy used by new buildings by 2030 to help the UK meet its ambition of having net-zero emissions by 2050. The number of jobs for architects is forecast to grow by 7.2% to 2027, with 37,700 more professionals in this field retiring. It’s increasingly important that new buildings prioritise nature-based solutions to improve biodiversity, be climate resilient and energy efficient.
Content designer
Content designers create and review content across an organisation. This might be marketing material but could also include content around the customer journey or even research. They work across digital and physical materials too.
Content creation and curation is one of the most in-demand digital marketing skills. In 2019, 78% of firms revealed that they employed a content team of between one and three content specialists. Nearly 15,000 new marketing jobs are expected to be created in the UK by 2027. With 40% of marketers stating that content marketing is very important to their overall marketing strategy, content designers will be in demand.
Welfare rights officer
need to know their rights when it comes to benefits
Welfare rights officers work for charities and bodies such as Citizens’ Advice Bureau to advise people of their rights when it comes to benefit claims and appeals. They provide an essential service to society’s most vulnerable people and those experiencing severe hardship.
Overall, the number of jobs in welfare is expected to increase by about 1,800 up to 2027, while retirements should create around 14,000 further openings. Changes to the benefit system associated with the introduction of Universal Credit mean welfare rights officers will provide valuable help to those falling foul of an increasingly hard-to-access welfare system.
Registered nurse
Nurses cover a wide variety of specialisms, including ambulatory care, midwifes, dermatology and neuroscience. The provide care and treatment to patients in hospitals and GP surgeries and carry out and assist with procedures. Nurses are often the medical professionals we have most contact with.
Brexit is making it harder to recruit the number of nurses needed to cover capacity in the NHS. Nurses are therefore in high demand and qualified professionals will therefore benefit from relatively high job security. After a decade with few wage increases due to austerity, the nursing profession expects a payrise in Spring 2021.
Methodology
Fields of work are taken from the top 15 fields where high demand is expected in the Nesta jobs report 2017: Teaching and Educational Professionals, Sports and Fitness Occupations, Natural and Social Science Professionals, Artistic, Literary and Media Occupations, Public Services and Other Associate Professionals, Therapy Professionals, Engineering Professionals, Media Professionals, Welfare Professionals, Health Professionals. We then used the 2019/20 Prospects Luminate report to identify specific in-demand professions within these fields, supplementing this with our own independent research. Note: Covid-19 may have impacts on industries, professions and employment policy which are not factored into current research.
Images: Lead image JobCentre photo from Wikimedia Commons
