Dorset Work Trends

Across Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole over 95% of all businesses employ less than 10 people. Most small businesses are based within the Dorset county area. Due to the rural nature of Dorset much of the available work reflects the requirements of the countryside such as agriculture and tourism, but retail, care and manufacturing and administration/ICT opportunities are also available.

Agriculture

Although the outbreak never reached a Dorset farm and the impact of the foot and mouth outbreak locally was not as bad as it was in other parts of the country – the agriculture industry still suffered greatly.

As is the case across the country numbers employed within farming and agriculture tend to remain fairly static as most farms are both family run and owned. Some farms do recruit seasonal help, but if this is an area which is of interest the biggest advice is to apply for work direct and to gain as many qualifications as possible.

Kingston Maurward College of Agriculture provides courses in all aspects of outdoor work, and can offer advice to anyone considering the opportunities available.

Tourism

As in Bournemouth tourism is a key sector for Dorset. Whilst the seaside towns like Weymouth still offer opportunities in traditional hotel and catering businesses, the county offers a range of jobs within visitor attractions and holiday parks. Most of the attractions still operate a traditional tourist season (Easter to October) but some of the parks are extending their seasons to reflect the national trend towards short breaks and national holidays.

Due to the lack of public transport most employ local people or provide transport for the staff. Many offer both part and full time work and young people can find holiday work.

To reflect the increased demand by customers for service and customer care, many local organisations consider the ability to be able to communicate extremely important. Some companies also value staff who can speak in foreign languages.

As many businesses employ small numbers the ability of staff to be flexible and keen to get on are especially important. However, due to the small numbers of staff, some places have not provided training to their staff. Recently the requirement for increased customer care from our visitors has resulted in many attractions and in particular holiday parks, sending all levels of staff on training events. When considering what opportunity to choose, training is an important consideration, as it develops your skills and enables you to get on.

Care

As the population continues to get older – in Dorset we have the largest percentage of retired people in our county in the UK – so the numbers of jobs in this field. In recent months residential care homes have been training and up-skilling their staff. The numbers of care homes within Dorset did drop but it is predicted that these will slowly rise to accommodate the needs of the population.