1. Health care services
With the aging baby boomer population, the health care services industry is likely to keep growing for a long time. "Not necessarily in hospitals, but in areas like home health care, such as assisted-living services, jobs where you are helping people who have health issues and [who] are declining — those types of services are booming," explains Sandra Abbey, who teaches in the MBA program at the University of Phoenix Southern Arizona Campus.
2. Knowledge and information services
Given the abundance of smartphones and tablets, Abbey also sees tremendous growth in the information-services sector. "People who can deal with knowledge and create applications so that everyday people can find out what they want to know at a moment's notice" will find more job opportunities in the computer technology industry, she says. "Everyone is so connected these days. Having the skills to manage and use that information is a valuable resource."
3. Boutique retail and food
With Internet commerce making many products available worldwide, traditional department store retail has shrunk. But Abbey sees growth in many small niche markets for specialty retail and food outlets, both in physical stores and online. "There has been such a strong trend for buy local, eat local," says Abbey, who also works as senior director of administrative services for the Tucson Airport Authority. "It's important to have a niche today. I've seen a lot of development of specialty shops and small boutique restaurants."
4. Renewable or green energy
Although solar power took a hit when Solyndra went bankrupt last year, Nancy Wood, who teaches undergraduate human resource management courses for University of Phoenix online and has worked in human resources retail management for 20 years, thinks the green energy sector is continuing to expand. "Eventually alternative energy is going to really take off, because that's where we're heading, away from fossil fuels," she says. "So if you are an engineering technician who specializes in electronics or electricity, or thinking of becoming one, you're going to be in business for a long time."
5. Human resources
Once upon a time, HR was just the department that issued paychecks, but as the world has gotten more complex, so too has the HR field. "This is a hugely growing industry because it's become very diverse and requires more staff," Wood explains.
Today HR departments oversee training and development, organizational management, benefits and compensation, labor relations, diversity needs, international issues, employee relations, ethics, safety, and security. Not to mention, says Wood, "keeping tabs on what employees are tweeting about your company online."
Source: phonex
Today HR departments oversee training and development, organizational management, benefits and compensation, labor relations, diversity needs, international issues, employee relations, ethics, safety, and security. Not to mention, says Wood, "keeping tabs on what employees are tweeting about your company online."
Source: phonex