Technical services include architectural, surveying, and consultant engineering, as well as chemical, scientific, laboratory, geological and meteorological services. Increases in employment opportunities depend on the type of technical service. Architectural and surveying services are affected by building industry trends, services in the manufacturing sector are in decline, but services in growth areas such as food technology are experiencing moderate increases in the number of jobs available. However, the number of employment opportunities in the industry overall is expected to decline in response to the recent slump in the economy and this pattern is expected to continue over the next five years due to the current downturn in manufacturing.
Staff turnover is predicted to be low over the next five years.
Employment is mainly full-time. There are more males than females in this industry sector, although this is expected to change somewhat over the next five years with more women entering the industry.