Look at the East Midlands

The East Midlands has a population of 4.21 million and is set to grow to 4.31 million by the end of the year in England’s third largest region, covering 15,630 square kilometres (over 6,000 square miles) in the middle of the country. Its three major cities (Nottingham, Derby and Leicester) house 1.6 million people and ring East Midlands Airport. They are linked by excellent transport systems (one hour to London by train), and enjoy such environmental assets as the Peak District, Charnwood Forest, the Trent Valley, Sherwood Forest, Lincoln Cathedral and Chatsworth House. Sport and leisure are well represented with first-class football, rugby and cricket teams and facilities, Silverstone motor racing circuit and the National Space Centre.

The region’s two million-strong working population produces a gross value added of £14,010 per head (compared to the UK average of £15,259 per head); with key growth areas identified as high-performance engineering, clothing and textiles, food and drink, healthcare, creative industries and environmental technologies.

Regional employment is 95.7 per cent with a total of 94,000 people unemployed.However, over half of all companies reported difficulties in recruiting the right person, with a shortage of skilled manual staff.

Call centres, business parks, building and road developments, mail order and fulfilment and distribution, and both higher and further education activity are signs of an economy that may not be booming but is far from being depressed. Outside the three-city complex lies a network of pleasant market towns offering good quality of life in some beautiful countryside. These towns are also in the process of development with many new businesses emerging and populations doubling in size.

There is general optimism over prospects for 2006, with an unemployment rate below the national average. Ambitious plans have been laid to increase growth, in both gross value added and productivity, increase investment in research and development, maximise exports, and encourage the start-up and growth of new businesses. It is planned that there will be 4,000 new business start-ups per year and 45 per cent employment in newer technology industries by 2010.

Job markets are still buoyant and seem to be expanding, with recruitment generally fierce for the right people. The region is also hosting a pilot Adult (Construction) Apprenticeship which, if successful, will be launched nationally.

Opportunities and skills shortages

Many large companies are recruiting managerial or professional staff. Companies generally report difficulty recruiting craft and related staff, associate professional and technical staff, and plant and machine operatives. There are more jobs coming on to the market and the number of skilled and qualified applicants per vacancy is falling.

LGV C and C+E drivers and PCV drivers are in demand, with the major transport companies offering free training for licence upgrades. LGV drivers with ADR certification willing to spend nights out can earn in excess of £30,000. Service leavers should be aware of contract clauses that lock drivers into two-year contracts that require repayments of hefty training costs if they are broken.

Other skills shortages are in construction and building services engineering (multi-skilled plumbers, bricklayers, CORGI and 16th Edition electrical engineers), electrical/mechanical engineers, diesel engineers, transport vehicle fitters, and NVQ assessors. Police recruiting has slowed down now that the national system is in operation, although all the region’s services continue to recruit. Fire service recruiting is virtually non-existent and this will last until the service reduces to its new establishment. Potential applicants are encouraged to make enquiries with individual authorities one to two years before their discharge dates.

The food industry needs multi-skilled engineers. People with skills in mechanical, electrical and electronics areas can command starting salaries of over £26,000. Manufacturing, telecommunications and IT, facilities management and aerospace remain steady.

Employers

Significant regional employers include such household names as Boots, AstraZeneca, Barclaycard, Egg, Alliance & Leicester, HSBC, Capital One, Experian, Siemens, Rolls-Royce Aero Engines, Toyota, Bombardier, Powergen and the civil service, with more of the latter due to move to the region and create 3,000 jobs over the next two years. Manufacturing industry throughout the East Midlands continues to decline, although the rate of decline has slowed.

Salaries

A rough guide to salaries in the region is given below. This is inevitably very general and there will be variations between industries and also in various parts of the East Midlands.

Manual £10,000 to £15,000

Semi-skilled £12,000 to £18,000

Skilled and supervisory £15,000 to £28,000

Managerial £18,000 to £30,000

Executive £25,000 to £50,000 and upwards

House price guide

The following prices are a rough guide only to property prices and are liable to overnight change as financial factors in the country as well as in the region affect housing.