Named Europe’s Capital of Culture in 2008, Liverpool is more than just a city with a big status – it’s one of the most important trading ports in the world and is home to multinational manufacturers, shipping firms, banks, insurance companies and other large organisations. Major employers include Littlewoods, Unilever, Amec and United Utilities.
The city offers strong career prospects for both specialist and generalist HR professionals – most notably within the public sector as charities, the NHS and housing associations are all still recruiting. Professionals interested in working within the public sector should ideally have some previous experience, but the NHS is currently seeking professionals who have also worked in a commercial environment.
Manufacturing is a key industry within the city and employers tend to look for HR professionals with a manufacturing background. More generally speaking, we are seeing a rise in permanent recruitment, particularly for HR advisers and officers.
Other key skills in demand in Liverpool are employee relations skills and experience of dealing with unions. While there is now less demand for redundancy specialists across the North West than there was six months ago, companies are hiring reward specialists, following reviews of their reward policies after restructuring and downsizing.
Salaries remain steady in Liverpool; an HR officer will typically earn £20,000 to £25,000 and an HR director will typically earn £55,000 to £70,000.
Liverpool has good transport connections, with London just over two hours away by train, and Edinburgh just half an hour further away. Liverpool John Lennon Airport serves a wide range of domestic and European airports.
Liverpudlians have an enviable work-life balance as they tend to live locally to their work. The city has much to offer outside office hours, and major regeneration projects and business investment have boosted its economy in recent years.
A beautiful city, its waterfront is a Unesco world heritage site, and its cultural life is as vibrant as it was in the days of the Beatles and the famous Mersey Beat. Sports fans are equally well catered for with football and horse racing being particularly well served. Less well-known are the nearby beaches at Sefton and around the Wirral Peninsula, part of the Mersey Estuary’s 57 kilometres of stunning beaches and coastline. Shoppers, too, will appreciate what Liverpool has to offer – new centre Liverpool One offers more than 160 high-street stores.
Information provided by Hays Human Resources
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