Human resources
and industrial relations officers
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 8.4/10 Very high strict reading, with tools is 8.4/10 with-tools reading, strict is 1.6/10
- Wage exposure
- £729m £3.83bn
Higher exposure than 73% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Almost every routine task in this role is within reach of today's models. Roles like this are being rebuilt, usually not by disappearing but by one person using AI to produce what several did.
If you are in this role
Be the person doing the rebuilding. People who learn to run this kind of work with AI become very valuable, and the ones who wait tend to have the change made for them.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
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Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
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Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
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Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
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Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors" (21-1012.00).
What AI can already do
2 of 35 tasks, unaided
Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
What still needs a person
33 of 35 tasks
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
Identify cases of domestic abuse or other family problems and encourage students or parents to seek additional assistance from mental health professionals.
Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Refer students to outside counseling services.
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.
Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments.
Evaluate students' or individuals' abilities, interests, and personality characteristics, using tests, records, interviews, or professional sources.
Provide special services such as alcohol and drug prevention programs and classes that teach students to handle conflicts without resorting to violence.
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
Provide students with information on topics such as college degree programs and admission requirements, financial aid opportunities, trade and technical schools, and apprenticeship programs.
Conduct follow-up interviews with counselees to determine if their needs have been met.
Instruct individuals in career development techniques, such as job search and application strategies, resume writing, and interview skills.
Assess needs for assistance, such as rehabilitation, financial aid, or additional vocational training, and refer clients to the appropriate services.
Establish and enforce administration policies and rules governing student behavior.
Plan and promote career and employment-related programs and events, such as career planning presentations, work experience programs, job fairs, and career workshops.
Attend meetings, educational conferences, and training workshops, and serve on committees.
Teach classes and present self-help or information sessions on subjects related to education and career planning.
Plan and conduct orientation programs and group conferences to promote the adjustment of individuals to new life experiences, such as starting college.
Address community groups, faculty, and staff members to explain available counseling services.
Supervise, train, and direct professional staff and interns.
Provide information for teachers and staff members involved in helping students or graduates identify and pursue employment opportunities.
Interview clients to obtain information about employment history, educational background, and career goals, and to identify barriers to employment.
Collaborate with teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of school programs and in the preparation of master schedules for curriculum offerings.
Plan, direct, and participate in recruitment and enrollment activities.
Compile and study occupational, educational, and economic information to assist counselees in determining and carrying out vocational and educational objectives.
Establish contacts with employers to create internship and employment opportunities for students.
Establish and supervise peer-counseling and peer-tutoring programs.
Observe students during classroom and play activities to evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Refer qualified counselees to employers or employment services for job placement.
Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
Tasks via O*NET "Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors" (21-1012.00).
What AI can already do
19 of 35 tasks, with tools
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments.
Evaluate students' or individuals' abilities, interests, and personality characteristics, using tests, records, interviews, or professional sources.
Provide students with information on topics such as college degree programs and admission requirements, financial aid opportunities, trade and technical schools, and apprenticeship programs.
Conduct follow-up interviews with counselees to determine if their needs have been met.
Instruct individuals in career development techniques, such as job search and application strategies, resume writing, and interview skills.
Assess needs for assistance, such as rehabilitation, financial aid, or additional vocational training, and refer clients to the appropriate services.
Plan and promote career and employment-related programs and events, such as career planning presentations, work experience programs, job fairs, and career workshops.
Teach classes and present self-help or information sessions on subjects related to education and career planning.
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
Provide information for teachers and staff members involved in helping students or graduates identify and pursue employment opportunities.
Collaborate with teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of school programs and in the preparation of master schedules for curriculum offerings.
Plan, direct, and participate in recruitment and enrollment activities.
Compile and study occupational, educational, and economic information to assist counselees in determining and carrying out vocational and educational objectives.
Establish contacts with employers to create internship and employment opportunities for students.
Establish and supervise peer-counseling and peer-tutoring programs.
Refer qualified counselees to employers or employment services for job placement.
What still needs a person
16 of 35 tasks
Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
Identify cases of domestic abuse or other family problems and encourage students or parents to seek additional assistance from mental health professionals.
Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Refer students to outside counseling services.
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.
Provide special services such as alcohol and drug prevention programs and classes that teach students to handle conflicts without resorting to violence.
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
Establish and enforce administration policies and rules governing student behavior.
Attend meetings, educational conferences, and training workshops, and serve on committees.
Plan and conduct orientation programs and group conferences to promote the adjustment of individuals to new life experiences, such as starting college.
Address community groups, faculty, and staff members to explain available counseling services.
Supervise, train, and direct professional staff and interns.
Interview clients to obtain information about employment history, educational background, and career goals, and to identify barriers to employment.
Observe students during classroom and play activities to evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Associate professional occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons