Coventry’s Economy, Business Innovation, Industry, Jobs, Skills and Infrastructure
Coventry has benefited from forward-looking and business-friendly steps taken by the local council, the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, and the Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Over the past ten years, the city has emerged as one of the most successful places to do business in the UK. It now ranks seventh in the UK for job growth, with almost 12,000 new jobs created over the past decade. Although its skills base remains relatively low, Coventry can do more to attract high-skilled workers and ensure its residents have the qualifications needed to continue the city’s growth in the longer-term.
Industry, Business and Innovation in Coventry
Coventry is the thirteenth largest city in the UK, with some 329,000 people living in the city. It is located in the heart of England and is well-connected to the rest of the UK and beyond. Coventry is an hour from London by rail, 20 minutes from Birmingham Airport, and 35 minutes from East Midlands Airport. It is also accessible from six motorways (M1, M6, M42, M40, M45 and M69), while 98 per cent of the UK market is within a four-hour drive. The local area is home to several renowned companies, including Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover, E.ON, Severn Trent, Rolls Royce, IBM and many others. Key sectors include automotive engineering, low carbon industries, intelligent transport solutions, and digital gaming. In 2013, there were 45.18 business start-ups per 10,000 people in Coventry. Knowledge intensive business services accounted for 17.92 per cent of jobs in 2013, while manufacturing represented 11.07 per cent of businesses in Coventry. About a third of jobs in Coventry are supported by the public sector.
Jobs and Skills in Coventry
Over 15 universities are located within an hour’s drive of Coventry including Coventry University and the University of Warwick, while the city itself is home to two leading universities with approximately 54,000 students. At the same time, Coventry has one of the slowest increases in high-skilled workers in the UK over the past ten years. With the third highest rate of residents with no qualifications, the city is faced with having to tackle the quality of its workforce in order to build on its performance as a leader for jobs and business. In 2014, the employment rate in Coventry was 63.6 per cent and the average weekly earnings were £518.10. In 2013, there were 103,500 private sector jobs in Coventry and the ratio of private to public sector employment was 2.21. Approximately 29.72 per cent of the working age population had a qualification at NVQ4 or higher in 2013, while 15.76 per cent had no formal qualification.
Overall, the city of Coventry offers exciting opportunities across a variety of business sectors, especially for local start-ups. It is hoped that growth in the employment market continues, especially in the advanced manufacturing and engineering industries which have invested £100 million in Coventry and the county of Warwickshire.
For information on business centre opportunities and office space availability in Coventry click here.
Sources
http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/jan/19/five-stand-out-uk-cities-jobs-business?CMP=share_btn_tw
http://www.cwlep.com/why-coventry-and-warwickshire?sec=bg&cat=29
http://www.cwlep.com/face-the-facts