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.
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.