Brompton Academy

Sector Outlook

Are you passionate about conserving nature? Want to suppor t those with

disabilities? Do you see yourself researching into a new medical treatment?

Then you may well find yourself working in the charity sector. The charity

sector has an annual turnover of £65 billion with around 675,000 employees.

With over 180,000 charities in the UK; you could work for the homeless,

human rights, social care, research, advice, education and much more.

The work of charities touches across many major industry sectors and they

need experienced people in accountancy, scientific research, event planning,

management, marketing, public relations, retail, medical and others. Also

impor tant are those who can work in suppor t functions such as IT, human

resources and administration. Although some senior executives are paid

in excess of £100,000 the average wage in the industry is low, around

£20,000. Despite is best intentions, the sector does have its challenges;

news repor ts on charities closing due to mismanagement, funding crisis

and fraud are not uncommon. The larger charities tend to operate more

efficiently and manage staff well but there is lot of duplication in the sector.

Charities have to deal with increasing legislation, keeping competitive and

maintaining their professionalism.

If you have a passion for a par ticular issue, volunteering is impor tant

method for getting insight into how a charity functions and gaining

invaluable work experience. The skills needed for the sector include

commercial experience, organisational skills, communication, team work,

flexibility and willingness to do routine jobs. Some of the big players include

Age UK, Barnados, British Redcross and the National Trust. Vacancies

exist directly with charities, recruitment agencies, in the national press

and on specialist websites such as

or thethirdsector.

Despite cuts in government funding, the sector continues to grow,

par ticularly in charitable retail trading.

Charity Sector