Government departments and agencies considering a location outside London and the South East will find an attractive and distinctive workforce available to them in Leicestershire. A decision to locate in Leicestershire would provide some specific benefits. It offers a highly-skilled, flexible, affordable and multi-racial workforce with the capacity to meet large and small-scale recruitment needs of government departments and agencies.

 

 

Leicestershire has the capacity to meet a large scale relocation. There is a substantial local workforce of over 550,000 (higher than national average per 1,000 population). Leicestershire also benefits from a large secondary workforce catchment population. The City of Leicester attracts workers from the wider county labour market and, increasingly, from the much wider east and west Midlands area. The excellent road and rail links, lower commuting traffic volumes and close proximity to Derby, Nottingham, Coventry, Northampton and Birmingham provide a significant labour recruitment market within an hour ’s drive of the area. Over 2.4 million economically active people live within an hour’s drive time of Leicestershire (1.2 million within 45 minute drive-time).

 

Jobcentre Plus in Leicestershire records a significant pool of labour seeking employment in civil service-type occupations (2,500 jobseekers registered with Jobcentre Plus locally looking for general clerical /civil service work in October 2004).

 

Leicestershire is home to three high performing universities: the University of Leicester, Loughborough University and De Montfort University. Due to the excellent communication links, a number of other universities in the East Midlands are also easily accessible. The supply of new graduates emanating from these institutions is substantial. Over 15,000 graduates a year are produced by these three universities. In total, there are 48,768 students studying in Leicester and Leicestershire. This includes 29,101 Undergraduate students and 14,837 Postgraduate students.  Overall, students represent 9.1% of the working age population in the area.  In Leicester City this proportion increases to 12.7%: much higher than the equivalents for England overall (7.3%), and the South East (6.9%), indicating a potentially high proportion of graduates available in the local labour pool. The evidence suggests that at present a significant number of graduates are forced to leave the area through lack of suitable employment or end up accepting jobs well below their capabilities. Public sector relocation would provide an opportunity for the area to retain a greater proportion of its graduates.

 

Population growth in the area, particularly of those below working age, has been greater than the national average and has contributed to a relatively young population, particularly in Leicester.

 

The area also enjoys some of the best employee relations in the country, with much lower than average days lost through illness and industrial action.

 

Tables 2 to 13 provide a breakdown of economic information for Leicestershire relating to the labour market and skills. For a more detailed assessment of the Leicestershire economy in terms of labour capacity and skills, visit the Leicester Shire Intelligence web site. Leicester Shire Intelligence provides high quality research and intelligence about City of Leicester and County of Leicestershire. It acts as a central point for economic information for Leicestershire, providing key statistics, analysis and access to quality assured research projects.

 

 

A key strength of Leicestershire is its unique demographics. Both the City of Leicester and County of Leicestershire are routinely selected for market research and testing because of a near-perfect match between its demographic profile and that of the country as a whole.  Leicester also has a special appeal as one of Britain’s most multi-cultural cities – indeed, the first in which more than half its population will be from ‘minority’ ethnic communities by 2011. Table 1 illustrates the cultural diversity within Leicestershire.

 

The most recent arrivals – Somalis from the Netherlands and other European countries – join well-established Asian, African and African-Caribbean communities. The City is known for tolerance and harmony between its communities. There are also significant minority ethnic communities in the County area, such as Loughborough. As a result, the area is an increasingly dynamic and creative place – ideal, of course, for an organisation committed to innovation. In addition, it also offers government bodies, on its doorstep, a test-bed of the very varied needs and challenges that public services must address.

 

A decision to locate in Leicestershire would provide some specific benefits for government departments and agencies. It would enable it to recruit a workforce that is more representative of the nation as a whole. It would also be able to take advantage of the work undertaken by public sector partners in the area, especially Jobcentre Plus and Connexions.  These organisations have put a high priority on increasing economic activity amongst ethnic minority communities and, along with specialised private recruitment agencies, are able to provide a targeted training and recruitment service. Any vacant and new posts created locally by a relocating government body will attract a diverse and skilled group of applicants, and employee diversity can easily be maintained at London rates or further improved. Existing civil service staff and families from Black Ethnic Minority groups moving as part of a relocation will find a warm welcome and the same range of cultural opportunities as in London. There are over 35 different languages are spoken in the community.

 

 

Table 1. Culturally diverse population	White British	White Non-British	Black Minority Ethnic
City of Leicester	60.5%	3.3%	36.2%
County of Leicestershire	92.6%	2%	5.3%
East Midlands	91.3%	2.2%	6.5%
England	87%	3.9%	9.1%

 

Source:Census 2001

 

 

 

Table 2. Size of Workforce

 

Source: Census 2001 and using RouteFinder

 

 

Table 3. Unemployment

 

 

 

Table 4. Further Education (excluding Higher Education - 2004/2005 East Midlands LSC Planning Allocations

 

Source: Planned learner numbers LSC allocations toolbox 2004/05

              Success rates: LSC Crystal Reports 2003/2004 Final release

 

Table 5. Local Workforce Qualifications –City of Leicester

 

Source: Census 2001

 

 

Table 6. Local Workforce Qualifications – County of Leicestershire

 

Source: Census 2001

 

 

Table 7. Local Workforce Qualifications – Leicestershire

 

Source: Census 2001

 

Table 8. Qualifications – Economically Active in the City of Leicester

 

Source: Census 2001

 

Table 9. Qualifications – Economically Active in the County of Leicestershire

 

Source: Census 2001

 

 

Table 10. Qualifications – Economically Active in Leicestershire

 

Source: Census 2001

 

 

Table 11. Qualifications – Resident Employees in the City of Leicester

 

Source: Census 2001

 

 

Table 12. Qualifications – Resident Employees in the County of Leicestershire

 

Source: Census 2001

 

 

Table 13. Qualifications – Resident Employees in Leicestershire

 

Source: Census 2001

 

 

For a more detailed assessment of the Leicestershire economy in terms of labour capacity and skills, visit the Leicester Shire Intelligence web site.