Today's £14.4 billion UK consulting market might seem negligible from a Gross Value-Added perspective, but for an MBA – the Consulting industry is the leading employer with a median base salary of $165,000 among Top Schools in 2023. The industry is also the target for career switchers from the Finance, Technology, and Manufacturing/Automobile industries.
McKinsey & Co., Bain & Co., Boston Consulting Group, Roland Berger, Oliver Wyman, Kearney, and Strategy& are among the top consulting firms in the UK, along with 80 small, medium, and large consulting firms registered under the Management Consulting Association in the UK.
The recent controversy around hiring costly consultants for government projects aside, government agencies are the biggest beneficiary of the consulting service. The rapid shift in FinTech services with Brexit, GDPR, Open Banking policies, integrated services in telecom from the exit of Chinese firms, and the renewed interest in Digital services in the healthcare industry post-pandemic has created unique opportunities for Consultants in the UK.
The industry is expanding, with sales predicted to rise to £70.2 billion over the next five years at a compound annual rate of 2.2%.
Two niche consulting services – IT Strategy and Financial regulatory services are in most demand for 2023 as banks and insurance firms have to maintain regulatory compliance with the FCA, which oversees over 50,000 banking and insurance companies.
According to the MCA, the UK consulting sector employs over 63,000 professionals, 94% of consultants. The remaining 6% are members of the support personnel. Technology is the largest service line sector in the UK (28%), followed by Finance & Risk (15%) and Operations (13%). The turnover percentage for Strategy, people & change is about 10%. Compared to averages across Europe, UK consultancies perform comparatively more work in the technology sector and less in the fields of Strategy and operations.
Technology consulting is the sector with the most anticipated growth in the next 5 years. Digital transformation, big data, cloud, robots, mobile, and artificial intelligence are important growth drivers. Finance & Risk and Sales & Marketing, on the other hand, are anticipated to experience sluggish growth.
Read: Top MBA in the UK - Cost and Salary (2023)
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Management Consulting in the UK
