Golden Vocations To Enjoy Earnings Boost

High-flying vocational workers are set for generous wage hikes in the next 15 years, according to City and Guilds. Service leavers, and anyone planning for their future, need to be aware of salary trends as they make critical decisions that will determine their standing in the earnings league table.

The awarding body’s Future Earnings report identifies that already ‘golden’ vocations, including IT workers, electricians and those in the building trade, are at the top end, commanding salaries 30 per cent above the national average. By 2020, the fortunes of many more vocational workers will improve as their earnings climb at a faster rate than for most Britons, due partly to increasing demand for their skills.

The fitness industry is set to become one of the biggest success stories over the next 15 years due to people’s higher disposable income. Instructors at the top of their profession are in line for an £80,000 salary, £28,000 more than the national 2020 average. Hairdressers and beauticians will also reap the rewards of increasing consumer demand for more skilled leisure workers.

Meanwhile, the spotlight is also on senior security guards, who will be taking home £70,500 a year on average – nearly £20,000 above the predicted UK norm; 24-hour pub opening will lead to increased demand for door security, placing qualified staff at a premium.

Perhaps not surprisingly in today’s knowledge economy, IT professionals will continue to prosper. In particular, IT installing, maintaining and servicing is set to become one of the top manual skilled jobs, alongside plumbers and electricians. Indeed, traditional skilled trades such as plumbing and electrical work are also in line for a pay boost above the UK average by 2020. Continued investment in new housing and renovations will ensure a healthy financial future.

Increasing demand for vocational workers will produce clear incentives in terms of their earning potential, which will ultimately attract more people into these occupations over the coming years. It will also result in clear career paths for skilled workers, which just shows that a vocational occupation can offer a fulfilling job for life.

As well as predicting growth, the survey also examines how skilled workers are faring in today’s economic climate. Not surprisingly, considering their 2020 earning potential, leisure, hair and beauty managers are currently enjoying an annual salary increase of around 6 per cent – way above the 3 per cent national benchmark.

Social care assistants will also do well, with an average wage hike of just under 5 per cent every year. The UK’s ageing population means that skilled social care workers will continue to reap the rewards in years to come. Rail workers, security guards, chefs, plumbers, call centre operators and vehicle workers are all also basking in pay increases that buck the national trend.

The survey suggests a national average of £52,576 as a yardstick for the soaring wages of skilled vocational professions. It excludes high earners including senior executives, managers and professionals in such fields as law and banking in order to provide a realistic salary benchmark. The removal of such jobs creates a revised national average that lowers the overall national picture slightly. More importantly, by removing the few thousand highest earners within the UK, it provides a more accurate comparison by which top earners within each profession can be judged.

Table 1: Future earnings league table, 2020

Professions Average salary Executive role Average executive salary

IT professionals £54,181

Information and communication £55,636

technology managers

Railway maintenance £49,611 Construction and £49,404

works managers

Workers’ national £44,830

Executives’ national £70,865

average average

Plumbers £42,076 Property, housing £52,793

and land managers

Electricians £37,824 Electronic and electrical £53,071

engineers

Engineering £37,240 Engineering £49,806

technicians professionals

Realistic national £36,606 £52,576

average

Mechanics and £33,445 Garage managers and £32,221

vehicle trades proprietors

Building trades £28,589 Construction and works £49,404

managers

Social care £27,301 Residential and £38,609

assistants day care managers

Call centre £26,539 Quality and customer £48,197

operatives care managers

Chefs/cooks £26,256 Restaurant and catering £35,680

managers

Security guards £25,392 Protective service £70,573

officers

Beauticians and £21,520 Hairdressers and beauty £55,736

hairdressers salon managers

Sales assistants £17,911 Retail and distribution £39,728

managers

Fitness £17,634 Leisure and sports £79,889

instructors managers

Table 2: Annual growth rates

Occupation Forecast annual salary growth

Leisure and sports managers 6.82%

Hairdressers and beauty salon managers 5.78%

Care assistants 4.44%

Rail maintenance workers 3.94%

Hairdressers 3.85%

Protective service officers 3.44%

Chefs and cooks 3.43%

Plumbers 3.41%

National average 3.34%

Call centre agents and operators 3.32%

Vehicle trades 3.16%

Beauticians 3.09%