West Midlands
The economic downturn has had a marked impact on the West Midlands due to its historic reliance on manufacturing industries, which have been particularly hard hit by the fall in the value of Sterling and reduced consumer spending. In addition, challenging skills development objectives, from literacy and numeracy to higher level skills, have been set against the backdrop of the increasingly apparent need for diversification and restructure of the West Midlands' economy.
Economic development priorities in the West Midlands include an increased focus on new and emerging industries, markets and technologies (such as the environmental and 'green' or low carbon industries, health and medical technology, energy, advanced materials and nanotechnology, digital media and ICT, and transport technologies), and developing the skills and training required for these sectors. The ESF-funded Skills for Climate Change and Sustainable Development project has focused on the reduction of CO2 emissions from buildings, developing and sharing innovative practices with partners in Germany and the Czech Republic.
The population profile is ageing in rural areas, but becoming younger and more ethnically diverse in cities. Urban areas suffer the highest levels of worklessness, particularly Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Walsall and Stoke-on-Trent. In fact, nearly 60% of the region's workless are within the City Region (Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull, Telford & Wrekin and the Black Country). However, rural areas within Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Herefordshire have also experienced a sudden rise in unemployment due to business closures and limited job opportunities.
Investment in skills is a critical factor in improving employment participation rate and the 'skills capital' portfolio. Skills performance has been improving, but the proportion of people with no qualifications remains the highest of all the regions (15%), 53% of whom are unemployed. Lack of skills and qualifications can act as a major barrier to employment and create disadvantage in the labour market throughout adult life. Having even a low-level qualification nearly doubles the chances of employment over someone who has no qualifications at all - and even jobs requiring low-level skills are in decline.
