New research from Rencol Components has revealed the West Midlands as a hotbed of opportunity for those looking for a job in manufacturing. The region has just under three times more vacancies compared to the national average.
Ahead of National Manufacturing Day (24 September), Rencol, a leading supplier of standard parts for engineers and manufacturers, analysed live UK job postings aggregated on Adzuna. The West Midlands topped the table with 67.6 manufacturing jobs advertised for every 100,000 working-age residents, nearly three times the national rate of roughly 24 per 100,000.
Rounding out the top five regions are Northamptonshire (64.2 per 100,000), Shropshire (61.4), Herefordshire (53.1) and Worcestershire (49.7). The centre of the UK is also the epicentre for manufacturing with nine of the UK’s top ten counties in or around the Midlands. The findings cement the region’s status as Britain’s industrial heartland as home to major manufacturing employers including Jaguar Land Rover, JCB and Rolls-Royce’s aerospace operations.
In contrast to sectors like tech, the research found manufacturing opportunities are more prevalent away from Britain’s largest cities. Edinburgh ranked last of every county in the UK at just 4.6 jobs per 100,000, with Greater London (5.6) and Greater Manchester (8.0) also among the lowest-scoring counties. Scotland’s major cities underperformed across the board, while Fife remains an outlier with the strongest showing of any Scottish county at 32.9 per 100,000.
The full study, including the complete county-by-county breakdown and interactive map, is available at: www.rencol.com.
Mark Walker, Operations Director at Rencol Components, commented: “As a supplier to engineers and manufacturers across the country, we rely on a steady pipeline of new talent coming into this industry, and days like National Manufacturing Day matter because they open the door to people who might never have pictured themselves on a modern factory floor. The reality is these are highly skilled, well-paid, technology-driven careers, and this research shows exactly where in the country that opportunity is currently strongest.”
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