The City of Wolverhampton is part of the Birmingham and Black Country conurbation and a gateway between the historic Black Country and the beautiful countryside of Shropshire and Staffordshire.
This young and vibrant city with a population of 260,000 is one of the top ten growing economies in the UK and is currently enjoying record levels of private and public investment with £4.4 billion pounds being injected into regeneration projects citywide.
Located at the heart of Britain and Europe, the city offers the perfect centralised location for business success and outstanding national and international reach.
Here’s why:
- Excellent location
- Easy access to the M6, M6 Toll, M54, M5 and M42
- Birmingham 17 mins; London 98 mins; Manchester 70 mins
- HS2 will cut the journey time to London to 49 mins
- An expanding tram network across the Black Country
- Fast freight trains to all UK destinations
- Access to over 150 global destinations from Birmingham International Airport
- A market of 14 million people within 100 mins drive; 1.73 million within 30 mins; 3 million within 20 miles
- Be better-connected
- With enviable connectivity to the rest of the West Midlands and beyond, the city’s connectivity is being further boosted by £150m private and public investment into a single integrated city centre transport hub, connecting trains, buses and trams and creating an attractive commercial gateway to the city.
But our excellent air and ground transport links are only part of the story.
One thing Covid-19 has taught us is just how vital digital innovation is. City of Wolverhampton Council is proactively supporting this shift and investing in future-proofed digital infrastructure to support city businesses. Our ambition: to be one of the most digital cities in the UK.
We’ve secured the UK’s third national digital infrastructure platform, CityFibre, as our preferred full fibre broadband partner. The gigabit speeds this will give us will make us one of the best-connected cities in the country.
Wolverhampton is also one of only 13 cities nationwide where all four Mobile Network Operators have announced the rollout of 5G, with two operators already live. This gives businesses and residents access to mobile internet that is as fast as fibre. It will be transformational for industry in our city.
We’re also working with WM5G to be the UK’s first 5G Application Accelerator testbed so businesses can explore the potential of 5G and exploit this new technology.
Wolverhampton is ranked the top UK city for remote working according to the Remote Working Index thanks to our excellent WI-FI connectivity.
A City of Opportunity
As an integral hub for thousands of successful businesses directly in the middle of the UK, Wolverhampton attracts some of the brightest minds and companies in the country.
Sector leading firms such as Jaguar Land Rover, Marston’s, Moog, Collins Aerospace and Wiggle all call the City of Wolverhampton home and the i54 strategic employment site north of the city centre is the most successful enterprise zone in the country attracting high quality jobs to the area. Jaguar Land Rover’s £1bn investment in a new engine plant at the site is creating in excess of 1,400 jobs and hundreds more in the supply chain.
Whilst the city continues to build on existing strengths in high value manufacturing and construction, it is also developing clusters in other key sectors whilst retaining a strong focus on investing in skills and matching local people to local jobs.
The University of Wolverhampton’s £100m built environment super campus at Springfield will provide the skills for tomorrows workforce. As an International Centre for Urban Innovation, it is already home to the West Midlands Construction University Technical College (UTC), the Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills and the University’s School of Architecture and the Built Environment. It will soon be joined by the new National Brownfield Institute.
Strong cultural, entertainment, sport, leisure and housing offers underpin the city’s economy which is projected to grow 2-3% faster than the national average over the next decade. The Government’s Devolution Deal is seeing the handing down of powers and money to the city and the region creating new jobs, better skills, more housing, quicker transport links and better public services.
Right People, Right Attitude
The City of Wolverhampton sits right at the heart of one of the UK’s largest pools of skilled labour – 323,000 people live in the city’s travel to work area. Most importantly, the city has a clear commitment to keeping ahead of the pack through continuous investment in training and skills.
Businesses set the agenda and work together with providers, both to strengthen our current workforce and to build for the future. The Wolverhampton Education Business Partnership brings business and education together to develop the skills of young learners in readiness for working life. Find out how your business can benefit.
The University of Wolverhampton is recognised as one of the most influential, entrepreneurial and business-facing universities in the UK. Producing a pool of 50,000 graduates every year. The University is ranked in the UK top 5 for graduate employability with 96% of students going onto employment or further study.
We’re particularly strong in computer science, design, engineering, manufacturing and technology graduates. The City of Wolverhampton College is among the West Midlands’ top-three providers of apprentices, while Wolverhampton Adult Education Service is rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted and is one of only three adult education providers in the country to have achieved this top rating.
So as well as the right location, Wolverhampton has the right people to help your business grow – highly skilled, hardworking and steeped in our spirit of enterprise. We can also provide a tailored recruitment service to help your business find the right workforce.
The Learning City
Wolverhampton has developed an enviable reputation for investing in young people with the skills they need to prosper in the 21st century workforce. From early years through to further and higher education and beyond, the city offers a first class education.
The Benefits for Business are no less impressive
Alongside its high-tech learning centres, top sports facilities and virtual learning opportunities, the University of Wolverhampton Science Park provides incubation space for creative businesses and business support services.
The strength of Wolverhampton’s higher education sector is complemented by its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) orientated Academies and leading private-sector providers, most notably GTG Training Academy.