jobfacts

Counsellor

Counsellors — SOC 2020 3224

Counsellors provide counselling services to clients with a wide variety of problems by means of assisting them to reach their own resolutions to the difficulties they face. Counsellors may specialise in a particular area or client group or address a wide range of issues.

Also calledTherapistLife coachCareer coachWellbeing coachDrug and alcohol support workerSmoking cessation counsellorand 20 more titles
Typical full-time pay£31,1002025 Provisional
People in the job59,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month370↓ 7.4%on last year · 291st of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time counsellors earn, 2025
£31,100 typical£28,000lowest 20%£28,70025%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£28,000
25%£28,700
Median£31,100
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Nearly half (41%) of counsellors work for themselves. These pay figures only cover employees, so they may not reflect what self-employed counsellors earn.
Typical pay by regionUK median £31,100
North West!£34,300
Scotland!£33,500
South East!£32,200
London!£31,600
Yorkshire and The Humber!£29,900
North East!£28,400
South West!£27,400
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £31,100
North West£34,300 (small sample)
Scotland£33,500 (small sample)
South East£32,200 (small sample)
London£31,600 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£29,900 (small sample)
North East£28,400 (small sample)
South West£27,400 (small sample)
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £29,700
  • 2024 £29,700
  • 2025 Provisional£31,100
↑ 4.8% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 370 jobs for counsellors are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026390
Jul 2026425
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026430
Apr 2026348
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026289
Jan 2026402
Dec 2025203
Nov 2025380
Oct 2025438
Sept 2025390
Aug 2025354
Jul 2025445
Jun 2025436
May 2025516
Apr 2025395
Mar 2025450
Feb 2025406
Jan 2025396
Dec 2024253
Nov 2024433
Oct 2024394
Sept 2024399
Aug 2024457
Jul 2024506
Jun 2024434
May 2024578
Apr 2024534
Mar 2024397
Feb 2024467
Jan 2024486
Dec 2023388
Nov 2023450
Oct 2023396
Sept 2023444
Aug 2023428
Jul 2023495
Jun 2023696
May 2023713
Apr 2023547
Mar 2023691
Feb 2023704
Jan 2023748
Dec 2022608
Nov 2022784
Oct 2022788
Sept 2022651
Aug 2022762
Jul 2022819
Jun 2022831
May 2022767
Apr 2022591
Mar 2022651
Feb 2022672
Jan 2022676
Dec 2021610
Nov 2021703
Oct 2021674
Sept 2021597
Aug 2021569
Jul 2021664
Jun 2021573
May 2021553
Apr 2021452
Mar 2021644
Feb 2021478
Jan 2021425
Dec 2020411
Nov 2020443
Oct 2020611
Sept 2020500
Aug 2020385
Jul 2020384
Jun 2020366
May 2020337
Apr 2020285
Mar 2020439
Feb 2020550
Jan 2020553
Dec 2019437
Nov 2019517
Oct 2019506
Sept 2019403
Aug 2019403
Jul 2019474
Jun 2019516
May 2019498
Apr 2019352
Mar 2019341
Feb 2019316
Jan 2019360
Dec 2018231
Nov 2018314
Oct 2018354
Sept 2018327
Aug 2018298
Jul 2018326
Jun 2018383
May 2018379
Apr 2018309
Mar 2018344
Feb 2018299
Jan 2018482
Dec 2017302
Nov 2017354
Oct 2017358
Sept 2017336
Aug 2017281
Jul 2017306
Jun 2017343
May 2017547
Apr 2017369
Mar 2017422
Feb 2017375
Jan 2017592
Is there a shortage of counsellors?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedWell above usual
Note: uncertainty in hours and earnings due to proportion of self employed workers.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
36%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for welfare and housing associate professionals, which includes counsellors. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London184
Manchester34
Birmingham31
Glasgow City23
Leeds23
Stockport20
Doncaster18
Bradford16
Nottingham16
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole14
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where counsellors are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of counsellors
n/p
12%!
21%!
21%!
31%!
12%!
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3412% (small sample)
35–4421% (small sample)
45–5421% (small sample)
55–6431% (small sample)
65+12% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent67%
Higher education below degree!8.1%
A levels or equivalent!17%
GCSEs or equivalent!5.8%
Other qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent67%
Higher education below degree8.1% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent17% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent5.8% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published

Main employers: other social work activities without accommodation nec (19%), other human health activities (16%), educational support activities (12%), specialist medical practice activities (11%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
67%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work
Self-employed
41%
of people in the job

Routes in

Counsellor

You can get into this job through:

University

You could do a diploma, degree or postgraduate course in counselling or psychotherapy.

You might be able to study counselling alongside another subject like psychology, sociology or criminology.

You should look for a course that includes practical skills training and supervised work placements.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

College

You could start by doing an introduction to counselling course. This can last up to 3 months and can help you decide if counselling is the right career for you.

After that, you can do further training and complete courses like:

  • Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills
  • Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Skills and Theory
  • Level 5 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling

You can find out more about the recommended training to become a counsellor from the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Other ways in

Volunteering

You'll find it useful to have paid or unpaid work experience in counselling. You can find counselling volunteering opportunities through Do IT and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).

Other routes

You can volunteer and do training courses with counselling organisations, such as Relate, Samaritans and Cruse.

This can be useful experience before you take up professional counselling training.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks as you may work with children and vulnerable adults

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Many counsellors do a mix of part time, voluntary and private work. Clients may come to you after being referred by other health professionals, or they might contact you directly.

Counselling is often a second or additional career, and life experience is highly valued.

You may be expected to undergo counselling yourself as part of your training and reflect on it with your course supervisor. This might be needed to become accredited.

Professional and industry bodies

You could become a member of an organisation listed on the Professional Standards Authority's counselling register. This may be helpful when looking for work, and for many jobs it is essential.

Further information

You can find out more about careers in counselling from:

  • British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
  • UK Council for Psychotherapy
  • National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society
  • Health careers

You can also explore other careers in the psychological professions.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for counsellor. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Life coach

You can get into this job through:

University

Although not essential, you can study for a degree or postgraduate award in a subject, such as:

  • psychology
  • career guidance
  • counselling
  • psychotherapy
  • education
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Coaching Professional Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship. For example, with an organisation offering life coaching, personal development or career development services.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

Other ways in

Apply directly

Life coaching is not regulated in the UK, so anyone can work as a life coach if they feel they have the necessary skills and qualities.

It is often taken up as a second career. Experience in psychology, management, counselling, careers, HR or teaching could be useful.

You could also work towards accreditation from a coaching professional body to improve your job prospects.

Other routes

You may have an advantage if you've got qualifications and membership of a professional organisation. A good starting point is to choose a course that is approved by an independent life coaching body.

You could also take training through the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which offers courses in coaching methods.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

It's important that you gather as much information about coaching courses as you can, as costs and the way they are taught vary widely.

Courses are available through online and face-to-face learning, so you can choose one that suits you best. Apart from your studies you would need to make time for practical coaching sessions and preparation activities.

Check that a course offers:

  • contacts with coaching and mentoring bodies
  • testimonials from coaches who have attended the course
  • good resources for developing skills
  • practical training, like workshops and seminars
  • some supervised work with a practising life coach or assessor
  • advice on setting up a business
  • opportunities for continuing professional development
Further information

You can get more advice about a career in coaching from the:

  • Coaching and Mentoring Network
  • Life Coach Directory
  • Association for Coaching
  • International Coaching Federation

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for life coach. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • meets clients face-to-face, working either one-to-one or with couples or families, or by telephone or internet
  • encourages clients to discuss their feelings in relation to their problems, aiming to ensure that an understanding of the issues is achieved
  • presents different perspectives to the problem areas identified
  • refers to other appropriate sources of help
  • keeps accurate and confidential records

Skills

  • accept own accountability
  • apply quality standards in social services
  • apply socially just working principles
  • assess social service users' situation
  • assess the development of youth
  • communicate professionally with colleagues in other fields
  • communicate with social service users
  • communicate with youth
  • cooperate at inter-professional level
  • deliver social services in diverse cultural communities
  • demonstrate leadership in social service cases
  • empower individuals, families and groups
  • follow health and safety precautions in social care practices
  • handle conflicts

Knowledge

  • adolescent psychological development
  • counselling methods
  • legal requirements in the social sector
  • social justice
  • social sciences
  • supervision of persons
  • client-centred counselling
  • pedagogy

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Working with ideas and solving problems

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for health and social care associate professionals, a group of 13 jobs that includes counsellors.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 12%about 82,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035492,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.