THE WEST MIDLANDS:
ALWAYS AT THE HEART OF BRITISH MANUFACTURING

i54 is prospering as part of the wider West Midlands ‘Renaissance’ which has seen foreign direct investment in the region reach the highest level in over a decade and exports soaring to £29bn last year, making it the UK’s third biggest exporting region. In other words, it was probably made in the West Midlands – the region remains the beating heart of British manufacturing.

The region’s access to global markets requires excellent connectivity and the prime location occupied by Mucklow Park i54 provides this. It plugs directly into the national motorway network at a point that brings the ports of Liverpool in the north and Bristol in the south both within a 2 hour drive. Wolverhampton city centre is a 10 minute drive from the site and just an hour and half from London via rail. Birmingham airport is just over 30 minutes away.

* Sources: The Guardian/Thebusinessdesk.com
Percentage of workforce employed in manufacturing
Percentage of workforce in ’Skilled Trade’ occupations

Flight times from
Birmingham airport

Amsterdam 1 hr 15 mins
Paris 1 hr 20 mins
Frankfurt 1 hr 40 mins
Milan 2 hrs
Dubai 7 hrs
Delhi 7 hrs 55 mins
New York 8 hrs 25 mins
Beijing 12 hrs 20 mins

Port access from i54

Liverpool/Ellesmere 63 miles
Bristol 99 miles
Felixstowe 174 miles
Folkestone 195 miles
Harwich 172 miles
Hull/Immingham 128 miles
Southampton 138 miles
London Gateway 157 miles

TRAINING
TOMORROW’S INNOVATORS

There are over 3 million people of working age within a 20 mile radius of i54. Of these, over 2.7 million have qualifications above NVQ level 2 and 24% have a degree or equivalent qualification. The West Midlands always was, and still is, the manufacturing heartland of the UK economy. This brings with it a workforce well adapted to flexible working and with a wide ranging set of production skills.

The West Midlands has 10 Universities, 8 Science Parks and 2 of the UK’s top 5 business schools.

There are 16 Higher Education Institutions (HEI), 14 of which are represented as members of the ‘Deans of Engineering & Technology Alliance’. These HEIs provide approximately 13,400 graduates per annum in Engineering and Technology related subjects.

Several schools are running programmes to encourage children towards a career in advanced manufacturing. JCB is a pioneer in this field having recently opened their own Academy. The University Technical College offers engineering and science courses to Year 10 and Sixth Form students.

HEIs are matching engineering and technology students with the needs of industry so you have a workforce that meets your needs directly, and graduates have a strong incentive to succeed.

The colleges will actively help you find the ideal candidates for each job – giving you the pick of the bunch to interview.