Around the UK - West Midlands

Led by our West Midland representative, e-skills UK has been working with key partners in the region to deliver on the objectives outlined in our strategic plan for England.

Latest LMI

• There are 7,665 workplaces in the IT & Telecoms industry in the West Midlands – 91% of which are IT companies and 9% Telecoms. In the IT industry in the region, a small number of large firms employ a large proportion of the workforce; micro firms make up 94% of the number of IT & Telecoms businesses in the West Midlands, but just 28% of the actual workforce. By contrast, firms with 200 or more employees make up just 1% of the total number of workplaces, but employ 36% of the workforce.
• 117,500 people employed in the West Midlands work in the IT & Telecoms workforce. This comprises around 73,000 in the IT & Telecoms industry itself, and a further 44,500 working as IT or Telecoms professionals in other industries.
• The profile of IT & Telecoms professionals in the region is an ageing one. The proportion aged 16-29 has dropped from 37% in 2001 to 19% in 2007, as the sector favours experienced workers from other sectors over young recruits from the education system.
• The IT & Telecoms workforce in the West Midlands is highly qualified. 49% of IT & Telecoms professionals hold a qualification at level 4 or higher, compared to 30% for the overall working population in the region. Moreover, only 6% of IT & Telecoms professionals in the West Midlands are not qualified to level 2, compared to 17% of the area’s employed workforce.
  

For the latest analysis of key labour market intelligence specific to the West Midlands, please refer to the 'Technology Counts England: IT and Telecoms Insights 2008' report. The report provides an in depth understanding of the existing IT & Telecoms landscape in the nine English regions, with forecasts of the future based on the best available global intelligence.

ICT policy for the region

The regional ICT strategy 'Digital West Midlands' provides a framework for the development and exploitation of ICT within the public, private and voluntary sectors in the West Midlands with the ambition of increasing the take-up and use of ICT to achieve benefits in both productivity and economic growth.

Last modified: 08 Jul 2009