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Call centre agent

Also called telemarketer, call centre rep, call center agent

Call centre agents handle incoming or outgoing customer calls for a business. They call existing and prospective customers to promote goods and services. They also obtain sales and arrange sales visits.

Will there be jobs?Average prospects31 jobs to fill by 2035 for every 100 people doing this work today.Sales workersWhat does it pay?Below averageFrom about €800 (Bulgaria) to €4,500 (Ireland) a month, depending on the country.Estimate · Sales workersWhat do I need to study?Upper secondary or vocational6 in 10 finished upper secondary or vocational training. 3 in 10 train through vocational routes.Sales workersWill AI change it?StronglyLevel 6 of 6. AI could take on a large part of 1 of the 8 main tasks.Contact centre salespersons · ILO

What you'd do

Contact centre salespersons · ILO
  • Promoting goods and services by telephone or electronic mail, following scripts and working from lists of contacts
  • Creating interest in goods and services, and seeking a sale or agreement to see sales representatives
  • Arranging processing and despatch of goods and services, information kits and brochures to customers
  • Arranging appointments for sales representatives
  • Recording notes for follow-up action and updating marketing databases to reflect changes to the status of each customer
  • Reporting competitor activities and issues raised by contacts for attention by managers
  • Maintaining statistics of calls made and successes achieved
  • Submitting periodic reports on telemarketing activities and results
Process dataPerform multiple tasks at the same timeGuarantee customer satisfactionHave computer literacyUse customer relationship management software+ 9 more essential skills
What the work is like
  • Indoors
  • Sitting most of the day
  • Constant contact with people, including the public
  • Some freedom to decide
  • Usually under 40 hours a week
  • Deadlines most weeks
  • Very repetitive tasks
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the US job "Telemarketers"

Will there be jobs?

Average prospects

A typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.

People working as sales workers in the EU
15.79m15.71m16.15m 201520232035

Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.

Jobs to fill, 2026–2035
173,000 new jobs 4,772,000 replacing leavers
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Sales workers31
All jobs29
Right now
5 of 27 countries report a shortage of contact centre salespersons, 5 a surplus.
Contact centre salespersons · EURES

What does it pay?

Below average

Pay depends a lot on the country: from about €800 a month (Bulgaria) to €4,500 (Ireland), before tax.

Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.

Among service and sales workers in the EU, women earn 3% less per hour than men. Service and sales workers · Eurostat

What do I need to study?

Upper secondary or vocational

Upper secondary or vocational training in finance, banking and insurance is the usual route.

Highest qualification of sales workers (EU, 2025)
Degree 16%Vocational 42%General secondary 19%Basic schooling 22%
Fields that teach it
Finance, banking and insurance · Wholesale and retail sales
Vocational route, EU
3 in 10 trainees in this field

Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.

Will AI change it?

Strongly

AI could take on a large part of 1 of the 8 main tasks.

How exposed is this job? ILO scale
Very low
Low
Some tasks
Moderate
Significant
High

Average task score 0.61 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).

See the score for each of the 8 tasks
Arranging appointments for sales representatives0.76
Maintaining statistics of calls made and successes achieved0.72
Submitting periodic reports on telemarketing activities and results0.65
Promoting goods and services by telephone or electronic mail, following scripts and working from lists of contacts0.62
Recording notes for follow-up action and updating marketing databases to reflect changes to the status of each customer0.59
Arranging processing and despatch of goods and services, information kits and brochures to customers0.56
Creating interest in goods and services, and seeking a sale or agreement to see sales representatives0.55
Reporting competitor activities and issues raised by contacts for attention by managers0.44

Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for contact centre salespersons. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).