South West Regional Development Agency

A Growing, Hard-Working Population:

South West England is a popular place to live. Between the 1991 and 2001 censuses, the population grew by 5.12% - twice the national average - in a large part due to Net Inward Migration, 62.4% of the adult population is currently in employment providing a total current workforce of 2,205,000. South West England's population of five million contains one of Europe's highest qualified workforces.

The region not only has an extremely high concentration of higher educational institutes - producing a flow of qualified graduates - but it also attracts skilled workers from all over the UK, drawn here by the exceptional quality of life on offer. 
 
This has played an important part in creating a work culture where innovation is prized and productivity and retention levels are high, yet remuneration packages are below the national average. Of course, South West England is an integral part of Britain's own "Silicon Valley" - the M4 - and its ease of access to London has led to the region becoming home to one of the largest clusters of professional practices outside of the capital.

Qualified staff are readily available in all the key sectors, such as ICT, Medical Equipment, Biotechnology, Aerospace and Automotive industries. The region also benefits from one area (Cornwall) where the highest level of European funding is available for employment development and training, and several more where intermediate levels of support are available. 
 
Regional Education:

• 40 Further Education Colleges
• 14 Higher Education Institutions
• 197,000 students in Further Education
• 140,000 students in Higher Education
• More than 25% of the region's population are qualified to NVQ Level 4 or above
• Attainment at GCSE and A-level among highest in the UK
• Highest levels of employees in higher level occupations (37%) in the UK (compared to other UK regions)
• Bristol and Exeter Universities combined have more 5 and 5* rated departments than Oxford or Cambridge