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Career ZoneCareer Research and PlanningEmployment sectorsRegulation, Compliance and Consumer Protection

Regulation, Compliance and Consumer Protection

An influx of new and updated rules, regulations, and laws in the financial services, healthcare, telecommunication, and other sectors has created an increase in the need for qualified and ethical individuals working as regulators and risk/compliance professionals.

Sector Overview and Roles

Below are sources of advice to help you understand more about the skills, experience and trends required to succeed in these sectors.

Industry careers advice

Industry news

If you would like to do further research into this sector, the following webpages may be useful. 

Information and links from professional bodies

Regulatory affairs is a profession developed from the desire of governments to protect public health by controlling the safety and efficacy of products in areas including pharmaceuticals, veterinary medicines, medical devices, pesticides, agrochemicals, cosmetics and complementary medicines, and by the companies responsible for the discovery, testing, manufacture and marketing of these products wanting to ensure that they supply products that are safe and make a worthwhile contribution to public health and welfare. A new class of professionals emerged to handle these regulatory matters for companies. TOPRA is a professional membership organisation to represent and support these professionals.

If you have studied a related degree, check if your course is accredited by one of the professional bodies. Being a member of a professional body is voluntary however, it can be valuable for developing networks, continuing your professional development, and generally keeping up to date with what's happening in the sector. 

Making contacts

Information interviews are informal conversations, over coffee, on the phone or via video call, with someone about their career or organisation. Their main purpose is not asking for a job. It is to get advice that will help you with career planning and job search. Social media, particularly LinkedIn, can be particularly useful.  Check the websites of professional associations. They often have member directories where you can find potential contacts. If you’re a student or associate member of a professional body, you may also be able to attend industry events.

  • Ask an Alum: A fuss-free way to connect with University of Exeter alumni to ask careers questions.  
  • Career Mentor Scheme: A popular employability scheme which matches a student or graduate with an experienced professional, for sector insight and one-to-one careers advice and guidance, over a 6-month period.
  • To see if there are any Exeter alumni working in this sector that you can get in touch with, go to the LinkedIn Alumni tool.

Events

Recruitment fairs, open days, talks, and events give insights and opportunities to make contacts, e.g. Careers In Finance is a week long event hosted by the Business School. For future employer events, careers fairs & Alumni talks please visit Handshake. If you haven't yet activated your account, click on this link and select the Single Sign On (SSO) option, then follow the onscreen instructions.

Job Roles

There are compliance jobs in almost every field, which can make it a difficult career path to prepare for. You will also find differences in job titles according to country and sector, for example, a compliance officer working at HSBC or Wells Fargo has very different responsibilities and educational requirements than a compliance officer working for Dow Chemical or Exxon Mobil. Read on to find out more about  Different Types of Compliance Jobs | Compliance Career Advice 

Explore more example roles in the sector by visiting the job profiles below. Each profile covers typical duties and responsibilities, entry requirements and the key skills required for the position. 

Examples of opportunities outside the trading standards service include licensing management for local authorities and quality/consumer law advisers for supermarkets, national retail outlets and manufacturers. Check Consumer Relations Officer, Consumer Product Tester, and Consumer Loan Underwriter for alternatives.

All employers value graduates with the following skills and attributes

  • Proactive
  • Curious and inquisitive
  • Analytical and data management skills
  • Energised
  • Good customer relations.

Work Experience and Placements

Getting a graduate job is competitive. Undertaking relevant work experience will not only raise your profile with an employer, but it will also allow you to develop new skills and gain a valuable insight into industry. What skills do you need to work in Compliance? | Compliance Career Advice 

At the Career Zone we run over twenty different workshops and webinars to help you develop your employability skills and prepare you for the graduate job market.

The Career Zone run a range of employability schemes to help increase your work experience and to develop your skills and networks too. You may for example be interested in the Professional Pathways  International Trade where you could network with colleagues from the Department for Business and Trade and further develop your commercial awareness.

Internships

Summer school | Undergraduate | LIBF This 2 week summer school is for those who have successfully completed the first year of an undergraduate degree programme in economics, finance, banking, or related subject areas, in an English speaking programme/teaching university.

Career Zone Internship schemes: Internships can be extremely useful, so try and get relevant vacation work or placements.  

Volunteering

Previous experience in related areas such as legal, retail or advice work is useful. You'll be dealing with the public quite a lot, so experience that demonstrates your people skills is helpful.

Volunteering: The Student Guild can provide you with fresh ideas for volunteering.

Graduate Jobs and Schemes

Competition is strong, especially for entry-level positions. Use the following resources to find advertised vacancies and research employers for speculative applications.

Working for CMA - Competition and Markets Authority - GOV.UK 

Working for the Competition and Markets Authority | Civil Service Careers 

Local authorities are one of the main employers of Trading Standards officers. This includes local, regional, and county councils or the Trading Standards Service in Northern Ireland. Look for job vacancies at:

A small number of specialist agencies, such as Kenyon Block Consultants, recruit experienced TSOs, primarily for contract work.

As jobs are not always advertised, it can be useful to develop your networking skills and apply speculatively. Down load a list of Employers of Exeter graduates in the finance sector  for ideas of companies to approach.

For general information about finding graduate opportunities, please visit our Graduate Jobs page, and for a list of general job search engines please visit our general job sources page. You could also have a look at Handshake, our vacancy database with employers who are targeting University of Exeter students.

Further sources of support

For further direction look at our Help with pages Finding a graduate Job

All international students will benefit from looking at the career zone International pages for help with finding work both in the UK and globally

To find jobs and additional vacancy source outside the UK use GoinGlobal. Login using your Exeter University email address. The worldwide country guides cover everything from job search resources and CV guidelines to cultural advice and visa information. Watch a brief (4:20) training video on how to get the most from GoinGlobal country career guides.

Further Study and Professional Development

If you would like to pursue postgraduate study before entering this sector, please visit our Postgraduate Study information page for more information about choosing further study.

Relevant qualifications are offered by the International Compliance Association (ICA), the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI), the London Institute of Banking and Finance (LIBF), the Institute of Risk Management (IRM), and several others. Some qualifications are highly specialised (e.g., the ICA’s “Specialist Certificate in Trade Based Money Laundering”, whilst others are more general (e.g., IRM’s “International Certificate in Risk Management”).

Knowing what your 2-to-3-year career ambitions are, along with making an honest self-assessment of where you are starting from, should help you determine which (if any) qualification makes most sense for you.

TOPRA (The Organisation for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs) runs a one-day Basics of Regulatory Affairs course (also available online) for those interested in a career in regulatory affairs.

To work in Trading Standards you will typically start out as a trainee where you'll combine study with paid employment to complete a range of professional qualifications offered by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI). There are three levels of training:

  • Trading Standards Practitioner Certificate (TSPC)
  • Trading Standards Practitioner Diploma (TSPD)
  • Trading Standards Advanced Practitioner (TSAP)

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Many major graduate recruiters have policies and processes that are proactive in recruiting graduates from diverse backgrounds. To find out the policies and attitudes of employers that you are interested in, explore their equality and diversity policies, and see if they offer ‘Guaranteed Interview Schemes’ (for disabled applicants) or are recognised for their policy by such indicators as ‘Mindful Employer’ or as a ‘Stonewalls Diversity Champion’.

The UK law protects you from discrimination due to your age, gender, race, religion or beliefs, disability, or sexual orientation. For further information on the Equality Act and to find out where and how you are protected, as well as information on what you need to do if you feel you have been discriminated against, visit the Government’s webpages on discrimination.

Read more from the Career Zone supporting equality & diversity, including how to share a disability and the support you can receive applying for jobs & work experience.