Re-Entering the Workforce: Where the Jobs Are.

The career scene keeps changing, especially for those who are re-entering the workforce. Organizations get flatter and leaner. Individuals are asked to do more with less. Your best way become and stay employed is by morphing yourself into a new or improved career. But where are careers going by the year 2005?

Exciting new options are on the horizon for the rest of this decade and into the first years of the next century. U.S. department of labor studies, industry analyses and resource guides show these career outlooks for employment growth potential:

Computers/Internet

To be successful in tomorrow's workforce, you cannot rely on yesterday's skills. The information explosion has created new ways to work, new languages and new careers, among them electronic mail technician, information broker, information center manager, software club director, web design artist and Internet providers' customer service personnel.

Construction

U.S. department of Labor statistics show an expected 1 million new jobs by 2005. Replacing infrastructure- bridges and freeways - is the key reason. Other prompts to expansion include environmental legislation, which will drive repair and renovation work and opportunities created by the global economy.

Human Resource Administration and Training

The HR field presents challenges in expanding areas as today's professionals are asked to fulfill a wide range of responsibilities, including working with unions, enforcing personnel regulations, supervising training, managing diversity and family care programs, international training needs and employee interaction programs. One government growth scenario shows 32 percent growth by 2005.

Marketing Communications 

More career opportunities are appearing in non-manufacturing areas, such as hospitals, professional firms financial institutions, nonprofit agencies, public sector organizations, retail operations and other service businesses. National labor forecasts show higher than average intense domestic and foreign competition.

Nonprofit Management

Work is primarily in the arts, education, social services, health care and religion. Managers, who work in partnership with volunteer boards to fulfill their missions, must improve effectiveness in strategic planning, fundraising public relations/marketing and board development to meet current challenges and future goals.

Professional and Technical Communication

The demand for trained technical writers remains high as the need for well-written computer documentation increases. Senior technical communicators may supervise other writers and eventually run their own departments. A recent issue of Money magazine listed technical writing in the top half of the 50 most promising jobs in America.

Meeting Planning

More than $322 billion is spent each years on meetings in the United States, making meeting planning one of the top industries in the country. Professional meeting planners work in small companies or corporations, at visitor and convention bureaus, with professional associations or as self-employed consultants.

Selling

Sales professionals play key roles as markets become more competitive, average sales costs are up, and the need for detailed, current product or service information rises. Intensifying domestic and foreign competition should result in faster than average job growth. sales in other occupations, as they achieve corporate or personal goals.

Program and Project Management

While many are project managers by accident, the new project manager is professionally trained and in charge of cross-functional projects, business-unit joint ventures, strategic alliances and partnership including various disciplines. Companies have a critical need as product development cycles decrease, regulatory requirements increase and industry and government standards proliferate.

Purchasing Management

Purchasing is one of the occupations slated for 22 percent growth by the year 2001. Purchasing professionals have increasing responsibilities and roles to impact the bottom line. Increasing global sources, team decision-marking, single-source suppliers, increasing need for customer satisfaction, shorter cycle times and greater emphasis on supply chain management impact employment needs and skills.

Supervision and Management

The long-term employment outlook for supervisors and managers with the right mix of technical and people skills is bright, with a Bureau of Labor statistics prediction of up to 50 percent job growth by 2005. New jobs for general managers and top executives are due to increasingly complex business operations and large employment gains in trade and service industries.

Tourism

More than 82,000 jobs will be created by 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Travel industry jobs, specifically travel agents, are among the top 50 fastest growing jobs in the decade. Rising incomes, higher levels of education and an aging population, as well as growing international business travel, contribute to the industry's strong outlook.

Paul Williams is supplements editor for the Los Angeles Business Journal.