The West Midlands is in the heart of the UK. This prime location, with its established infrastructure and high population, makes it an excellent place for thriving employment opportunities.
Despite this, The region has struggled with higher-than-average unemployment rates in recent years.
In this article, we’ll explore the potential avenues that could help increase employment in the West Midlands. We’ll look at what might have the most significant impact, what is realistic in the short term, and what we can hope for. Keep reading to find out more.
A look at employment rates in The West Midlands
As of October 2024, the unemployment rate in the West Midlands was 4.1%. This equates to around 131,000 people out of work in the region. The countrywide unemployment rate was 4% during the same period.
The West Mids has the 5th highest unemployment rate in England. Although things have marginally improved over recent years, there is still some work to do. Individual circumstances aside, there are some obvious ways to increase employment, many of which require positioning the region as an idyllic place for new and existing businesses. More on that below.
Possible avenues for increased employment in The West Midlands
Increasing employment rates isn’t easy, and several individual and economic factors must be considered. That said, The West Midlands has enormous potential to attract more talent and commerce – perhaps more than most of the country. We’ve covered a few of the possible avenues below.
Attract gambling, gaming, and software companies
Whether you agree with the industry or not, gambling businesses can have a significant positive impact on the regions where they house their headquarters. The perfect example is Bet365 and its economic effect on Stoke-on-Trent. Starting with 12 employees in 2020, Bet365 is now the largest private employer in the region, with over 1,900 staff, and even sponsoring Stoke’s football ground.
Birmingham is the second-biggest city in the UK and is three times bigger than Stoke-on-Trent. Its size and transport links make it the perfect place to house a gambling headquarters and generate the jobs that come with it.
Here are some of the initiatives that could be launched to attract gambling companies to the region:
- Develop modern office spaces that are attractive to software companies and can house a large number of employees
- Improve internet infrastructure to meet the business demands of online casinos (a casino should have a well-maintained site, and this requires 100% uptime)
- Develop software training courses at universities and colleges to ensure a pipeline of talent
Support SMEs
Small to medium businesses struggle to compete with conglomerates, and many have had to close their doors post-pandemic, resulting in higher unemployment rates. The West Midlands needs to support existing SMEs in staying afloat and encouraging new businesses to choose the region as their home.
Here are some of the ways the West Midlands can support SMEs:
- Provide networking events or ways to meet other entrepreneurs
- Give access to more lines of business credit
- Mentor up-and-coming business owners
Develop skills and education
In June 2024, The Midlands reported a skills shortage of 68%, the highest in the country. This means a considerable gap exists between the roles available and the people needed to fill them. Plugging this gap would be an extremely effective way to reduce unemployment rates, but it’s easier said than done.
Here are some of the things that the region will need to do to address the skills gap:
- Create more accessible training courses that align with industry needs and where the most significant gaps are, similar to the Hamish Ogston Foundation Heritage Crafts Apprenticeship Programme
- Support workers in declining sectors through affordable retraining courses
Improve transport links
Living in The West Midlands doesn’t necessarily mean working in The West Midlands. Some of the biggest job opportunities may be in London or other major cities like Manchester or Leeds. Each is easily accessible with good transport links, and the region should prioritise connections to these locations. This would likely be a quicker and easier fix than encouraging businesses to the West Midlands by bringing the people to the jobs before the jobs to the people.
Conclusion
Some regions in the UK have high unemployment rates and few prospects—the West Midlands isn’t one of them. This article covers only a handful of possible solutions to improving employment rates, and other feasible options exist. The main priorities should be incentivising large software and technology companies to consider Birmingham as their home and encouraging students to enroll in courses that will reduce the growing skills gap.
With 11 major universities in the region, a solid geographical location, and some easily actionable initiatives, The West Midlands could become one of the most prosperous parts of the UK in the coming years.
Written by Marc Webb
