New analysis of official government data has revealed the self-employed trades in highest demand across Britain, with the fitness industry facing the sharpest gap between rising customer demand and the growth of new businesses.
Research from business insurance provider Protectivity found that demand for several popular trades is increasing faster than the supply of people available to meet it. The findings highlight opportunities for people considering starting their own business this autumn, traditionally one of the busiest periods of the year for new business enquiries.
Britain’s self-employed economy continues to grow, with the number of sole traders increasing by 5% over the past year and 17% since 2010. Small businesses now employ 16.9 million people and generate £2.8 trillion in annual turnover.
Consumer interest in independent work is also rising. Searches for “register for self-employment'” increased by 36% over the past quarter, while searches for “work from anywhere” rose by 59%.
Driving instructors see biggest rise in demand
Protectivity analysed official ONS job advert data covering more than 400 occupations before narrowing the results to trades where at least half of the workforce is self-employed. The analysis identified the occupations with the greatest growth in demand over the past year.
Driving instructors recorded the largest increase, with demand rising by 58%. Market and street traders followed at 48%, while childminders saw a 40% increase.
The other occupations included bricklayers, where demand rose by 28%, floorers and wall tilers at 20%, and fitness and well-being instructors at 18%. Demand for hotel and accommodation managers and proprietors increased by 14%, while plasterers rose by 11%, taxi drivers and chauffeurs by 10%, and florists by 9%.
The increase in demand for driving instructors comes as learners continue to face lengthy waits for practical driving tests. The DVSA’s average waiting time between booking and taking a practical driving test currently stands at 10.7 weeks, compared with a seven-week target.
Fitness industry faces widening supply gap
Protectivity also compared government demand data with its internal sales figures for new business insurance policies. The comparison was used to assess how quickly the supply of new businesses was growing in each industry.
Fitness and well-being showed the largest gap. Job adverts for fitness and well-being instructors increased by 18% over the past year, while new fitness-related business insurance policies rose by only 7%. This means demand increased 157% faster than supply.
Growth was particularly strong in several specialist areas. New Reformer Pilates policies increased by 948%, while martial arts policies rose by 167%, kickboxing by 159%, and boxercise by 135%.
Protectivity said the figures indicate that specialist fitness styles are attracting people who are setting up new businesses, although the overall industry is still not adding self-employed instructors quickly enough to meet demand.
Several high demand trades have limited AI exposure
Some of the occupations identified by Protectivity are also among those considered less exposed to generative AI.
A recent academic study developed a task-based Generative AI Susceptibility Index, known as GAISI, for UK occupations. It found that elementary construction occupations, including trades such as bricklaying, plastering, and tiling, were among the occupation groups least exposed to generative AI.
By 2024, 94% of UK jobs had some exposure to generative AI, but only 13% had heavy exposure across half or more of their tasks.
Not every occupation identified in the research has the same level of protection. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs face relatively little direct threat from generative AI, but autonomous vehicles and robotaxis represent a longer-term consideration as the technology develops.
Fitness entrepreneur sees growing demand
Lana Durjava is among the specialists building an independent business in response to increased demand in the fitness sector. She is the founder of Quiet Progress Lab, a strength and conditioning coaching and nutritional advice business, and is developing an app to make her training approach accessible to more people.
Durjava, founder of Quiet Progress Lab, comments: “It’s become much easier to build something independently in this industry as you don’t need your own gym or huge funding to get started anymore, and the internet means you can combine coaching, programming and education to reach people well beyond your local area.”
“I’ve definitely noticed growing demand for this kind of approach as lots of people want to get stronger and fitter, but they don’t have the capacity to follow a standard programme week after week. They push too hard, don’t recover properly, stop, and try again a few months later. Some just give up and assume they’re the problem, when actually the programme wasn’t right for them in the first place. There’s clearly an appetite for something that works with people’s lives and capacity, rather than against it.”
“My advice to anyone thinking about going independent in this industry is to start with a genuine problem you want to solve, rather than just deciding you want to be your own boss. Being good at your profession and being good at running a business are two completely different things and you really have to learn both to be successful.”
Protectivity urges businesses to review insurance cover
Chris Trotman, Head of Sales and Underwriting at Protectivity, comments: “Our research shows that there’s a genuine window of opportunity right now for people with the right skills to go it alone and find work waiting for them, across multiple industries, from bricklaying to floristry.”
“Demand for fitness instructors in particular is growing at more than double the rate of new businesses entering the industry and in areas like Reformer Pilates, growth in new instructors setting up in the last year is outpacing almost anything we’ve seen before.”
“The flip side is that it’s easy to get caught out when a business is scaling so quickly. If you’re taking on new equipment, moving into a new specialism, or suddenly running several classes a week instead of one, it’s worth checking your policy actually reflects that, as plenty of business owners don’t realise their cover hasn’t kept pace with how much their business has changed. Opt for a business insurer that has adaptable policies and specialist add-ons that suit the flexibility needed for scaling sole traders, and whenever your day-to-day changes significantly, flag it with your insurer so that you’re not caught out if something goes wrong.”
For more information on business insurance, visit Protectivity’s official website.
The research suggests that demand for self-employed trades is outstripping supply in several sectors across Britain, with fitness instruction showing the most significant gap between demand and the growth of new businesses.