West Midlands

Introducing the region

The West Midlands is the only land-locked region in the UK and is made up of six counties: Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and the West Midlands - which are home to 5.4 million people. The region’s capital city, Birmingham, is the second largest city in the UK and has a population of over 1 million people. The region is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of the conurbation to the rural western counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire which border Wales, while the longest river in the UK, the River Severn, traverses the region southeastwards.



Snapshot: STEM business and industry in the region

The West Midlands was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and has the highest proportion of manufacturing companies of any UK region employing 15% of all people employed. However, following the downturn the region has undergone major economic restructuring in recent times, with the relative share of employment and wealth generation transferring from the manufacturing sector to service sectors.

The region still hosts world-leading automotive companies, but these have now also been joined by global food and drinks companies, and following the Government’s New Industries, New Jobs agenda, there has also been a huge upsurge in new media and digital companies.

The region contributes over 7% of the UK’s Gross Value Added.


Major STEM sectors and top employers

Automotive – Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, GKN, JCB, Halfords, Manganese Bronze, Volvo Group UK, Subaru UK

Engineering – Imperial Metal Industries

Digital & creative – Lucas, Codemasters, Blitz, Free Style Games, Serious Games Institute (SGI)

Materials – Wedgewood, Royal Doulton, Tarmac, Michelin

Food & drink – Cadbury, Mitchells & Butlers, Bulmers Cider, Müller Dairy, Dairy Crest, Premier Foods


Looking forward

The CBI annual skills report (2010) identified 59% of employers as having difficulties in recruiting STEM-skilled employees. In 2008, Semta (the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies) looked forward to 2014 and reported skills gaps in the workforce, which offer opportunities for STEM-skilled individuals in the West Midlands:

  • The West Midlands accounts for 17% of all Engineering employment and 15% of all Engineering establishments in the UK, employing 213,000 people in 10,430 establishments.
  • 93% of Engineering establishments in the West Midlands employ less than 50 people.
  • The largest sectors in terms of employment are metal products, mechanical equipment and automotive.
  • 19% of Engineering establishments in the West Midlands reported skill gaps in the current workforce, which was slightly less than the proportion within UK Engineering (21%).
  • Employers in the West Midlands expected that skills gaps for operators and professionals would have the most significant effect on their business.
  • The main skills cited as lacking in employees were technical and engineering skills at all levels; 69% of those Engineering establishments in the West Midlands reporting skill gaps.
  • The most frequently cited technical skills gaps were CNC machine operations, tool setting, fabrication, materials requirement planning (MRP) and welding.
  • The generic skills gaps highlighted were key or core personal skills (7%), management skills (4%), IT/computer skills (3%) and marketing or selling skills (2%).
  • Together with changes in skill requirements, qualifications demanded by employers are likely to change, with an increasing requirement for intermediate and higher level qualifications. Over the period 2008-2014 there is expected to be a net requirement within the Engineering industry in the West Midlands for about 6,100 people at NVQ Level 2, 7,200 people at NVQ Level 3, 5,900 at NVQ Level 4 and about 1,500 at NVQ Level 5 or above.

Further information is available from Semta Engineering Skills Balance Sheet.


STEM education support infrastructure

Several organisations are working to support the development of STEM skills in the West Midlands. This team includes:

NCETM
Proessional development for mathematics teachers.

Science Learning Centre West Midlands
Professional development for science teachers.
Director: Jo Flynn, enquiries@westmidlands.slcs.ac.uk.

STEMNET
Enhancement and enrichment - creating opportunities to inspire young people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Regional Director: Barry Lewis, Barry.Lewis@stemnet.org.uk.

IOP
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics.
Regional Officer: David Wilkinson, david.wilkinson@iop.org.

HE STEM Programme
Supporting Higher Education Institutions in encouraging the exploration of new approaches to recruiting students and delivering programmes of study within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Regional Director: Kamel Hawwash, k.i.m.hawwash@bham.ac.uk.

LSIS STEM Programme
Supporting the national STEM agenda with a focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning in the FE and skills sector.
Regional STEM Champion: Jon Alderson, jon.alderson@bmetc.ac.uk.

ESERO-UK - the UK space education office
Using space to enhance and support STEM teaching and learning in the UK.
Regional Space Ambassador: Andy Newsam, amn@astro.livjm.ac.uk.