Working in Sheffield
Insight into the job market and employers in the Sheffield region.
Public sector employers
The biggest employers in the region are in the public sector.
NHS
Over 25 000 people are employed by the NHS in Sheffield alone. In the NHS is made up of 5 adult teaching hospitals, the children鈥檚 hospital, health and social care services including mental health services, and GP practices. Similar services can be found across the region including the , and .
Alongside health and medical roles, a wide range of non-clinical roles can be found including in administration, data, HR, finance and management. For information about the different roles in the NHS, go to . To find job vacancies, go to .
Access to volunteering opportunities with the NHS in Sheffield is managed on this .
Local councils and combined authorities
Local councils in the region include , , , and .
A wide range of roles can be found relating to providing services to the public, in areas such as social care, housing, planning, and education. Examples of 鈥渂ehind the scenes鈥 roles include administrative support, project manager roles, strategic planning, data and information analytics, finance, and HR. Other roles involve more face to face interaction with service users, such as youth work roles, support work, and social work assistants.
More information about the types of roles available in local government can be found on
For job vacancies, go to individual councils鈥 websites. Many have a separate section for jobs in schools including non-teaching roles. Other jobs sites include and .
Civil Service
Civil servants work for the government, primarily developing and implementing policies, and providing services to the public. The service is divided into a number of . As well as roles relating to research, strategy and policy, jobs provided within the Civil Service include jobs in .
Sheffield is a major hub for the Civil Service, with approximately 8000 people employed here. Departments with a presence in the city include the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office, The Department for Education, and the Ministry of Justice. The recently established has resulted in a major concentration of policy roles in the city.
There are different ways to enter the Civil Service. The graduate programme is one option. However, many graduates enter the Civil Service by for a job (sometimes called direct entry). Depending on the skills and experience stipulated in a role, new graduates could consider applying for roles at Administrative Officer/Assistant grade, Executive Officer, and Higher Executive Officer grade.
Find out more about , together with information about .
Universities and further education
The 爆料TV and are big employers in Sheffield. Roles are very varied, with many options in addition to teaching/academic and research roles. Options include behind-the-scenes roles such as HR, finance, marketing and communications, governance and data analytics. Student-facing roles include student support roles, international student support, student wellbeing, and careers and employability roles.
Further education colleges with a range of professional services roles alongside teaching and student support roles include , , , and .
For vacancies, see the University or college websites. For vacancies more generally, see and
Careers information about the variety of roles within all levels of education can be found on .
Other employers
Other public sector employers include the police forces in the region: , and . The has offices in Sheffield and Rotherham.
Private sector employers
Employers in Sheffield and the surrounding region fall into the areas described below. Some of these are big employers, many others are small and medium-sized employers (SMEs). The Sheffield economy is dominated by SMEs, with approximately 60% of all those employed in the private sector working for SMEs. If you are considering staying in Sheffield and the region, think about working for an SME as well as some of the bigger organisations.
Consider the full range of employers when thinking about looking for vacancies. If you are looking for an HR, marketing, digital or finance role for instance, don鈥檛 forget that an Engineering company will have these and other business-related roles as well as technical engineering roles.
Advanced manufacturing and engineering
This sector employs approx 50,000 people across 3000 companies in the region, with large numbers employed in the aerospace and automotive industries.
Major employers include:
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Professional services
A wide range of organisations providing professional services can be found in Sheffield and the local region. Key areas of activity with examples of the most prominent companies include:
Legal services: , , and .
Banking, accountancy and financial advice: , , , , . Further afield, the big four (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) have offices in Manchester and Leeds.
Recruitment and HR: , , and .
Property and construction: , .
Other companies include (insurance), (consultancy), (business outsourcing), (translation services),and .
Technology, digital and creative
A wide range of employers in this sector can be found in Sheffield and the region. Many advertise their vacancies on . This site also includes information about events, meetups and networking opportunities.
Creative and digital companies include , , , , , , and . Other employers include and .
Sheffield is a hub for education technology, with 60% of digital content for schools created in Sheffield. Educational technology companies include , ,, , , , , and .
A further speciality of the digital sector in Sheffield is mobility technology - related to transport and movement. Companies include , , , .
Health technology, science and wellbeing
There are over 4,000 employers in this field in and around Sheffield, with one of the UK鈥檚 largest concentrations of orthopaedic and medical device companies. Companies include , , , , and . Also see the .
Logistics and supply chain
The region is well-placed for logistics and supply chain organisations. Employers include , , , , and .
Energy
Companies involved in the energy sector across the region include: , , , , and .
Business Parks
Sheffield and the region has a number of Business Parks, including and . Websites may not include vacancies, but provide information on employers who could be approached proactively.
Not-for-profit employers
This sector is also known as the voluntary sector, charity sector or the third sector. A common misconception is that all work in this sector is done voluntarily, however this sector is a significant source of paid employment. There are approximately 3300 voluntary and community organisations in Sheffield, with many more in the wider region.
provides more information on the nature of careers in this sector. Roles are varied, and many mirror the roles that might be found in the business sector such as finance, policy and research, marketing and fund-raising. Other roles are client-facing, including support worker roles, advice, counselling and education roles.
Sources of job opportunities across the region include , , , and . Similar sites in Manchester include and . National jobs sites include and .
If you are particularly interested in a particular cause, you may wish to consider making speculative applications to organisations working in that area. The is a source of information on local groups and charities.
Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
There are also many smaller organisations in Sheffield that recruit graduates. More than 60% of the UK workforce was employed in an SME in 2024, so it is worth exploring the benefits of working for an SME if you would like to work in Sheffield.
Recruitment agencies
The following recruitment agencies have offices in Sheffield.
- (IT & telecoms; sales and retail; finance and insurance; admin support and secretarial)
- (accountancy and finance; business support; education; legal; IT and technology)
- (social care / medical; engineering and technical; legal; education)
- (office / admin support and secretarial)
- (education; admin support and secretarial; sales and retail; legal; engineering)
- (hospitality, technical, construction)
- (legal, HR, finance, marketing, administration, customer service, and management)
Find out more about using recruitment agencies. The of agencies can be searched by location and sector. All agencies on the database meet the confederation鈥檚 ethical and professional guidelines.
Part-time work
Working while studying has a number of benefits - as well as boosting your finances, student jobs build your skillset and provide you with invaluable work experiences. If you are looking for part-time work in Sheffield, take a look at our during your degree, including guidance on local employers and where to look for roles.