Thames Valley towns named in UK top 10 places to find work

Thursday, 8th July 2010

A report produced by The Work Foundation, entitled ‘No city left behind? The geography of the recovery – and the implications for the coalition’ revealed the UK cities/towns with the most potential for employment growth. Much of the gains in employment are likely to be in the cities which already have strengths in these industries.

Because of this, the recovery is likely to be led by cities such as Cambridge, London and Reading. These cities have high levels of employment in growth sectors, highly skilled populations and are not dependent on public sector employment.

Ginette Gower, head of PR & communications, Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group said: “We welcome the assessment of urban growth, naming Reading & Bracknell combined as No 1, Oxford at No 5, Aylesbury (with Milton Keynes) at no 6 and Swindon at No 9.” This reflects the strength of the Thames Valley region, particularly in the industry sectors predicted to grow in the next decade. However, we concur with the conclusion that targeted action needs to be taken to assist the cities most affected by low skilled populations and public sector cuts”

The report concludes that four sectors are likely to be crucial for growth over the next decade. These are:

• The creative industries – these will continue to grow, driven by the UK’s international specialisation in these industries and the increasing importance of intangibles as factors of production;
• Manu-services – where the manufacturing sector is increasingly linked into service based activities, with firms designing physical goods for niche markets and gaining longterm revenue streams from the maintenance and servicing of these products;
• Low carbon industries – driven by regulatory shifts to a low carbon economy, markets for carbon trading and consumer preferences for environmentally friendly goods;
• High-tech and high-value added networked services – which act as intermediaries in the production process, adding value to other sectors.

About ‘No city left behind’

The report by The Work Foundation published today investigates the geography of the UK recovery and sets out which policies will support economic prosperity and respond to the distinctive circumstances faced by different cities.

The report explores how cities can prosper over the next decade, the report warns of the danger of a split recovery. This would result in a number of already successful cities, mainly located in the South East, leading the recovery leaving less successful cities with low growth, low employment and low prospects.

Setting out the implications for the Coalition Government, No city left behind? shows that cities with highly educated populations, high levels of employment in knowledge intensive industries and relatively low levels of employment in the public sector are likely to lead the recovery. But there is real concern that cities with low skilled populations and a strong reliance on the public sector for jobs will remain scarred by the recession for many years to come unless targeted action is taken.

Neil Lee, the author of the report, added, “Government action is now needed to ensure that no city is left behind by the recovery. The government must ensure that appropriate finance is made available to support high growth small and medium size enterprises, particularly those outside of London and the South East who can struggle to obtain finance to expand. This could be achieved through a more diverse range of financial institutions and by correcting the bias in finance for certain regions.”

Other policy recommendations in the report include concentrating resources for enterprises with potential for rapid employment growth and ensuring that public sector cuts do not affect the ability of firms to commercialise university research. This will rely on support for innovation, access to growth finance and an improved digital infrastructure.

Note to editors
No City left behind? The geography of recovery and its implications for the Coalition Government by Neil Lee available at www.theworkfoundation.com.

About The Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group

The Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group works with businesses across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire to help them achieve their full business potential through; meeting new customers, cutting costs, developing their workforce, influencing local decision makers and arming them with business intelligence. Membership is available to all businesses in the Thames Valley.

Media enquiries:

For The Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group
Ginette Gower 01753 870552
ginettegower@thamesvalleychamber.co.uk

For the Work Foundation
Gideon Benari or Nasreen Memon 020 7976 3507 or 07825 527 036 nmemon@theworkfoundation.com