Human resources and industrial relations officers

SOC 2020 code 3571

Human resources and industrial relations officers conduct research, analyse data and advise on recruitment, training, staff appraisal and industrial relations policies and assist specialist managers with negotiations on behalf of a commercial enterprise, trade union or other organisation.

Employees (UK)
138k
Median annual pay
£33,012
Exposure score ?
1.6/10 Minimal direct 1.6 · with tools 8.4
Wage exposure
£729m

Higher exposure than 73% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.

What this score means

Most of this role's work is still genuinely hard for AI to do. Physical presence, bodily skill, high-context judgment, direct human care - the things that don't translate to text.

If you're in this role, here's what to do now

You're not in the firing line today. But the frontier moves. Build enough AI fluency now that you can direct it for the parts of your work that could benefit. People in unexposed roles who understand AI become unusually valuable inside their organisations.

The tasks in this role, ranked by AI exposure

Below are the real tasks O*NET records for this occupation, sorted highest exposure first. "AI can do this" means a language model can already handle the task directly. "AI can help" means an LLM can assist but not replace. "Human work" means today's AI doesn't touch it. Importance is O*NET's 1–5 rating of how central each task is to the role.

2 of 35 tasks in this role are things an AI can already do today. Task list mapped via O*NET "Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors" (21-1012.00).

  1. Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.

    AI can do thisimportance 4.4/5
  2. Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.

    AI can do thisimportance 3.5/5
  3. Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.

    Human workimportance 4.6/5
  4. Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.

    Human workimportance 4.5/5
  5. Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.

    Human workimportance 4.4/5
  6. Identify cases of domestic abuse or other family problems and encourage students or parents to seek additional assistance from mental health professionals.

    Human workimportance 4.4/5
  7. Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.

    Human workimportance 4.3/5
  8. Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, administrators, and other professionals to discuss children's progress, resolve behavioral, academic, and other problems, and to determine priorities for students and their resource needs.

    Human workimportance 4.3/5
  9. Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments.

    Human workimportance 4.2/5
  10. Evaluate students' or individuals' abilities, interests, and personality characteristics, using tests, records, interviews, or professional sources.

    Human workimportance 4.2/5
  11. Provide special services such as alcohol and drug prevention programs and classes that teach students to handle conflicts without resorting to violence.

    Human workimportance 4.2/5
  12. Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.

    Human workimportance 4.0/5
  13. Provide students with information on topics such as college degree programs and admission requirements, financial aid opportunities, trade and technical schools, and apprenticeship programs.

    Human workimportance 4.0/5
  14. Conduct follow-up interviews with counselees to determine if their needs have been met.

    Human workimportance 3.9/5
  15. Instruct individuals in career development techniques, such as job search and application strategies, resume writing, and interview skills.

    Human workimportance 3.8/5
  16. Assess needs for assistance, such as rehabilitation, financial aid, or additional vocational training, and refer clients to the appropriate services.

    Human workimportance 3.8/5
  17. Establish and enforce administration policies and rules governing student behavior.

    Human workimportance 3.8/5
  18. Plan and promote career and employment-related programs and events, such as career planning presentations, work experience programs, job fairs, and career workshops.

    Human workimportance 3.7/5
  19. Attend meetings, educational conferences, and training workshops, and serve on committees.

    Human workimportance 3.7/5
  20. Teach classes and present self-help or information sessions on subjects related to education and career planning.

    Human workimportance 3.7/5
  21. Plan and conduct orientation programs and group conferences to promote the adjustment of individuals to new life experiences, such as starting college.

    Human workimportance 3.7/5
  22. Address community groups, faculty, and staff members to explain available counseling services.

    Human workimportance 3.6/5
  23. Supervise, train, and direct professional staff and interns.

    Human workimportance 3.6/5
  24. Provide information for teachers and staff members involved in helping students or graduates identify and pursue employment opportunities.

    Human workimportance 3.5/5
  25. Interview clients to obtain information about employment history, educational background, and career goals, and to identify barriers to employment.

    Human workimportance 3.5/5
  26. Collaborate with teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of school programs and in the preparation of master schedules for curriculum offerings.

    Human workimportance 3.4/5
  27. Plan, direct, and participate in recruitment and enrollment activities.

    Human workimportance 3.4/5
  28. Compile and study occupational, educational, and economic information to assist counselees in determining and carrying out vocational and educational objectives.

    Human workimportance 3.4/5
  29. Establish contacts with employers to create internship and employment opportunities for students.

    Human workimportance 3.4/5
  30. Establish and supervise peer-counseling and peer-tutoring programs.

    Human workimportance 3.3/5
  31. Observe students during classroom and play activities to evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.

    Human workimportance 3.1/5
  32. Refer qualified counselees to employers or employment services for job placement.

    Human workimportance 3.1/5
  33. Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.

    Human workimportance 2.7/5
  34. Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.

    Unlabelledimportance 4.4/5
  35. Refer students to outside counseling services.

    Unlabelledimportance 4.3/5

Where a project with Alex usually starts for this role

This role's strict α score is low because its top tasks are judgment, not drafting. But those same tasks compress dramatically when AI is paired with the right context and tools. The three highest-stakes tasks below are usually where we start.

  1. Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.

    O*NET importance 4.6/5 · strict α=0 (judgment-heavy) but compresses with tools

  2. Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.

    O*NET importance 4.5/5 · strict α=0 (judgment-heavy) but compresses with tools

  3. Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.

    O*NET importance 4.4/5 · strict α=0 (judgment-heavy) but compresses with tools

Every role has three or four wedges like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days. Talk to Alex about a project →

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Methodology

This role's exposure score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 GPT task labels, aggregated by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 via ISCO-08 (ONS Vol 2 coding index) and US SOC 2010 (BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional. ASHE covers employees only, so self-employed workers are not counted.

Methodology · Sources (PDF) · About · Built 23 April 2026

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