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Want a career with staying power? Consider this: a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report noted occupations expected to decline severely between now and 2014 as technological advances further eliminate the need for human interaction in the production process. Jewelry was one occupational sector cited where project employment is excellent. Why?

And how can you get on board?

Jewelry is big. Today’s worldwide jewelry industry is conservatively estimated to be a $120-plus billion business. It employs people in scientific discovery, lab research, drawing, designing, manufacturing, distributing, marketing, sales and many other functions.

Jewelry is human. Jewelry has been around for more than 100,000 years. It’s an inexorable part of what makes us human, something inherited from Cro-Magnon ancestors, like art, music or speech. Expression through personal adornment is hard-wired into the human psyche.

Jewelry is made by people. Jewelry is artistry, imagination, science and engineering woven together. In other industries, continued advances in technology can eliminate jobs, but many aspects of jewelry making can’t be automated. Jewelry, like art and music, begins as someone’s creative idea, and will always require the talent and hands-on skills of designers and craftsmen to bring it to reality.

Jewelry will always be acquired by someone, for someone. The retail environment is changing with the Internet, discount stores, and TV shopping networks, each moving merchandise with a relatively small sales force. But these same channels also generate an increased demand for jewelry, which means new opportunities for highly skilled and trained jewelers and gemologists. It even expands the marketing reach of the personable Main Street jeweler who often forges lifelong relationships with customers, many of whom prefer to purchase high-ticket, luxury goods from jewelry professionals they know and trust.

A changing, and aging, population creates demand for jewelry and for jewelers. The population aged 45 and older is on the rise. According to the BLS, the increasing numbers of affluent individuals, working women, double-income households, an upcoming “bling” generation and fashion-conscious men are expected to keep jewelry sales strong.

As the general population ages, so do the ranks of master jewelers. At retirement, they leave with years of experience that employers will find difficult and expensive to replace. New jewelers with the right skills, training and knowledge will be needed.

Jewelry is accessible. Nearly everyone can own a piece of personal jewelry at an affordable price. Everyone is a potential jewelry customer, and many are repeat customers.

Jobs in the jewelry industry are accessible, too. If you’re interested in knowing more about the industry, talk to a jeweler you respect and find out how they got into the field. Ask the counterperson at a local jewelry store what training you need. Most jewelers have a Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) or an Accredited Jewelry Professional (A.J.P.) diploma from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the nonprofit research and education organization long regarded as the foremost authority in gems and gemology.

To help people learn about the options in the gem and jewelry industry, GIA hosts the GIA Jewelry Career Fair, the industry’s annual event where potential employees meet recruiting employers and other industry professionals. Career Fair participants can also attend workshops and seminars on jewelry careers, how to get hired and how to succeed in the field.

The event is free and open to the public. It is held twice a year, in July at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City and in October at GIA headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif. Visit www.careerfair.gia.edu for more information.

Last year, more than 80 of the top jewelry companies, and more than 1,700 job seekers, attended the Career Fair.

Check out GIA's Career Services to learn more about careers in the jewelry industry. Or go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics to learn more about jewelry as an occupation.

Career Fair was founded in 1991 by GIA and The Jewelers 24 Karat Club of Southern California. The VNU Jewelry Group is prime sponsor for the New York Career Fair in July. The JCK International Publishing Group and The Jewelers 24 Karat Club of Southern California are prime sponsors for the Carlsbad Career Fair. Media contact: Jessica Sachariason, 760-603-4197.