Summary
Tewkesbury is among the best places in England to work in the manufacturing industry, according to new research compiled by Isembard – the software-first manufacturing company specialising in components for critical industries.
Details
Isembard’s Engines of Growth Index ranks towns and cities in England using ONS data on density of manufacturing businesses, growth in those businesses over five years, manufacturing and engineering apprenticeships, manufacturing wages and the availability of related jobs. The analysis reveals Havant, Redditch and Kirklees as the top three areas to consider living in if you want to work in manufacturing.
Isembard’s research finds that Tewkesbury ranks sixth nationally, with 28 manufacturing businesses for every 10,000 residents – among the highest concentrations in the region – and 3.9 apprenticeship achievements in engineering and manufacturing technologies per 10,000 residents.
Tewkesbury’s manufacturing base has grown around its concentration of aerospace and defence engineering firms at Ashchurch, building on more than half a century of precision engineering heritage in the area and its position within the wider Gloucester-Cheltenham aerospace cluster. The South West places two authorities in the top 20 nationally, with Tewkesbury at sixth place and Stroud ranking nineteenth.
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Manufacturing wages in the South West run at 102.2% of average earnings, and manufacturing accounts for 7.5% of all jobs in the region. While the South West’s employment share is lower than England’s industrial heartlands, the density and stability of its manufacturing base – particularly in Gloucestershire – indicates a deep understanding of manufacturing.
The research on where best to work in manufacturing comes as the new Burnham Government sets high ambitions to reindustrialise Britain, with skills and technical training at the heart of its industrial agenda. Isembard’s index is the first to identify where manufacturing is thriving, to ensure investment reaches the areas best placed to deliver on the Government’s ambitions.
Alexander Fitzgerald, CEO and founder of Isembard , said: ‘Britain has spent two decades losing industrial capacity, but this research shows that decline is neither uniform nor inevitable. Tewkesbury shows what is possible when the conditions for manufacturing are right. “With 28 manufacturing businesses for every 10,000 residents, the area has one of the densest industrial bases in the South West.
The skills, entrepreneurs, and ambition exist, showing that reindustrialisation – rightly identified as a priority for Prime Minister Burnham – is possible. As a country, we must make more of what we need, and take lessons from the towns and cities excelling at it.”
Report source: Punchline Gloucester
