Occupational psychologist: Typical employers/vacancy sources

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Typical employers
Sources of vacancies

Typical employers

The growth in occupational psychology in Britain over recent decades has been driven by the rapid changes in work, which has arisen from technological innovation and global competition. There are currently 3,500 members of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Occupational Psychology, of whom 1,500 are chartered.

Typical employers tend to be large organisations in the private and public sectors, including government departments and management training centres.

Most occupational psychologists are employed in the business sector, mainly in private consultancies. Most of these consultancies are small, employing no more than a handful of psychologists - the largest UK consultancies employ over 50.

The second largest sector of employment for occupational psychologists is the Civil Service, with over 1,000 psychologists currently employed (October 2009). The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) are the largest employing departments, with some psychologists also employed in the Home Office and Cabinet Office .

More than 120 occupational psychologists work in universities in teaching or research roles.

Many occupational psychologists are self-employed. Some have portfolio careers combining several aspects of teaching, research and consultancy.

The increasing use of psychometric instruments in selection, management development and many different human resource management processes means that more people are currently employed by psychometric test publishers than in any other single business area of occupational psychology.