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Sector Outlook
The Human Resources industry has gone through a vast series of changes
in recent years as increasing legislation has brought many improvements to
employment practice. HR Staff need an understanding of complex employment
law such as welfare rights, equality, redundancy, discrimination and equal pay.
The work could involve coordinating recruitment, planning training programmes,
leading on staff inductions, tracking absence and sickness, managing
relocations, tackling employee relations or advising on business change.
Around 100,000 people are employed in HR across all industry sectors.
Opportunities exist from SME’s to large corporates with demand coming from
those who are headquartered in London. Graduate recruitment programmes
exist with many multinational companies including Nestle, KPMG, Unilever and
Barclays. There is a demand for talented individuals in human resources as
companies look to improve their employee retention schemes. Some businesses
have turned to upskilling employees due to the lack of skilled candidates which
has meant an increase in HR budgets in learning and development. About 6
in 10 companies outsource elements of their HR functions such as payroll,
recruitment or seek specialist consultancy services.
To work in HR you need strong people skills, organisation, attention to detail,
diplomacy, IT skills and a willingness to learn. Degrees in Human Resource
Management and Higher Apprenticeship programme exists for the sector for
those with A levels or equivalent but you could also start work at 16 with an
apprenticeship in administration and progress from there. Jobs are advertised
directly with companies, large sector organisations, HR recruitment sites such
as
michaelpage.co.ukor
personneltoday.com. You can sign up for free to find
out more with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Human Resources