LABOUR MARKET & SKILLS

The Sheffield Region is served by a talented and skilled workforce which is over 1.28 million strong. A further 21 million people live within a two-hour drive. 

Employers are already tapping into this strong skills base with over half of Sheffield Region’s firms attributing their competitiveness to the high level of workforce skills. Comparatively Sheffield Region has a higher percentage of people of working age than other major areas such as London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow.

 To build on this resource, Sheffield Region provides high quality post 16 education with two world leading universities, six colleges of further education and 598 schools. The universities in Sheffield offer excellent research facilities, top rated teaching, a combined population of over 53,000 students and a steady flow of highly-educated first class graduates which makes up the 12,000 students that graduate each year. 

The region can boast of being above the national average for holders of NVQ qualifications with 83% of working age people holding qualifications up to NVQ level 4. On top of that, salary rates can afford to remain competitive at around 10-15 per cent lower than the national average across a broad spectrum of jobs.   

 From an employer’s perspective, the Sheffield Region’s highly-skilled workforce and available property and development options make investing here quick, easy and successful.