2. Overview of Huddersfield
Economy of Yorkshire
Regional Growth Fund
Summary
Huddersfield
& Yorkshire
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
3. Overview of Huddersfield
Summary of Huddersfield and its history
Huddersfield is a town of Victorian architecture. Huddersfield
railway station is a Grade I listed building described by John
Betjeman as ‘the most splendid station façade in England’ second
only to St Pancras, London. The station in St George’s Square was
renovated at a cost of £4 million and subsequently won the Europa
Nostra award for European architecture.
The town is known for its role in the Industrial Revolution, it played
a huge part, as a group of people known as the ‘Luddites’ attacked
the local mills due to fear of losing their weaving jobs when
machines were first introduced to the factories. It is also known for
being the birthplaces of rugby league, British Labour Prime Minister
Harold Wilson, and the international film star James Mason.
Taylor and Lodge are one of the oldest wool manufacturers in
the country situated only ten minutes away from Huddersfield
University. The company are still manufacturing high volumes of wool
each day and provided material for the wedding of Kate Middleton and
Prince William in 2011.
Huddersfield is a town in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber, with a population of 162,949.
The closest major cities include Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Stoke-on-Trent. (Post code
district HD1-5, HD7-8.)
The local economy of Huddersfield has been based around high quality products in engineering,
textiles, chemicals and foodstuffs, but more recently has diversified into a broader spread of
manufacturing and service industries, nevertheless also retaining a level of the original industries.
There has been a settlement in Huddersfield for over 4,000 years.
The remains of a Roman fort were unearthed in the mid 18th century at
Slack near Outlane, west of the town. Castle Hill, a major landmark, was the
site of an Iron Age hill fort.
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
4. Skills, facts and figures:
• At 77.5%, the proportion of the working
age population that is economically
active is higher than the national average
• Nearly 55,000 people of working age live
within a 30 minute commute
• Within a 60-minute drive-time of Huddersfield, there are 3.2 million people of
working age
• 31% of the working population are educated to NVQ Level 4 or above
• The University of Huddersfield has over 24,000 students from over 120 countries
Overview of Huddersfield
Skills, facts and figures:
• Huddersfield’s landmark Media Centre has become a place to
make it for creative businesses and is home to a thriving mix of
digital, media and design enterprises
• Huddersfield has the third largest manufacturing employment
base in the country (behind Birmingham and Leeds) with
30,300 jobs
• A total of 13,930 employers are based within the Huddersfield
area, employing 150,200 individuals
• The area is in the top ten locations for the number of residents
in work - with 186,200 residents in work
There are 2,300 businesses in the creative and digital sector
within the area.
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
5. Major Companies & Employers in Huddersfield include:
Kirklees Metropolitan Council 19,195 Huddersfield
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust 3,500 Huddersfield NHS Trust
The University of Huddersfield 2,800 Huddersfield
Kirklees College 1,200 Huddersfield Fe College
Marshalls Plc 1,200 Huddersfield
(Manufacturer of Building Materials)
Cummins Limited 750 Huddersfield
Manufacturer of Turbo Chargers
NHS Kirklees 730 Huddersfield NHS Primary Care Trust
Overview of Huddersfield
Major Companies & Employers
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
6. Yorkshire is the largest county in the UK and has been named as one of the top places in the world to
visit in 2014 in a new travel booklet; also ‘Lonely Planet’ put the area third in the top 10 world regions,
behind destinations in India and Australia.
The Yorkshire economy is showing clear signs of recovery and is now gathering real momentum. Different regions have distinct
economic profiles, strengths and weaknesses and Yorkshire and the Humber is taking impressive strides to modernise its
industrial base and build a knowledge economy.
The aim is to produce a more dynamic environment in which greater numbers of businesses start up and survive.
Through this, more jobs can be created, ensuring that a healthy economy spreads prosperity to all its citizens
throughout the county.
In the past two decades the region has suffered from the decline of traditional industries with
substantial job losses in coal mining, steel, engineering, textiles, rail administration and maintenance,
and defence. These losses have been partly balanced by growth in financial, legal and telephone-
based services, and the high-technology sector is growing strongly.
Economy of Yorkshire
Overview of County’s Economy
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
7. The region’s towns, cities and rural communities are changing
rapidly to meet the challenges ahead. Leeds is already recognised as
an important financial service centre and is playing an increasingly
key role in driving forward the sub-regional economy.
The challenge is to establish more companies where competitive edge is based on knowledge,
creativity and skills, producing high value added products and services.
The region’s universities are a major asset which must be built upon to enable its companies and
people to compete effectively in today’s knowledge economy.
The current and future economic potential for Yorkshire is in areas such as port-centric economic
development, off-shore wind turbine manufacturing and other renewable energy projects such as bio-
fuel, anaerobic digestion, tidal power and carbon capture, etc.
Economy of Yorkshire
Future Challenges – development
of industry
Carbon Capture Storage
Cluster
The need to reduce carbon
emissions is a global and a
national priority, and the UK is
committed to reducing carbon
emissions by 80% of the 1990
levels by 2050.
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
8. To establish a carbon capture and storage (CCS) cluster. The Yorkshire
and the Humber CCS cluster (the “CCS cluster”) represents a unique
opportunity to develop, promote and sustain new low carbon technology,
to further secure the energy and industrial requirements of the UK, and
make a significant contribution to local, regional and national economic
development.
The CCS proposition for Yorkshire and Humber is that if industry develops
and sustains the large-scale infrastructure to transport and store CO2 deep
under the North Sea, then the impact on industrial development for the
region will be significant.
Establishing the CCS cluster will also deliver a number of further benefits
that drive the development of the local economy. This will take place close
to areas that have been affected in recent generations by deindustrialisation,
and suffered the departure of high-skilled and high-paid jobs.
Economy of Yorkshire
Strategic Location
The development of the CCS core infrastructure will
help ensure that there is a future stream of high quality
work for a skilled workforce for many years to come,
along with the potential to export know-how derived
from the projects.
The presence of a significant and advanced supply
chain within the region will include some 280
companies and up to 24,000 employees.
Yorkshire and the Humber is the best strategic location in Europe
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
9. Short term (2014 - 2020)
Direct and indirect benefits:
• Construction-Operation Phase (2012 – 2019) – a maximum of 5,902 jobs per year.
• Operational phase (2019 – 2030+): up to 400 net additional jobs per year.
Wider economic benefits:
These benefits will be felt throughout the Yorkshire and Humber supply chain, initially for
services within construction and the technology and specialist supply chain associated with the
CCS capital equipment required.
The development of the Yorkshire and Humber CCS cluster could have a hugely positive
impact on the local, regional and national economy, whilst demonstrating how CCS can be
commercialised and deployed at scale. This would secure regional jobs.
Economy of Yorkshire
Timeline for Economic Benefits
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
10. To quote Winston Churchill: “A politician needs the ability to foretell what is
going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have
the ability afterwards to explain why it did not happen.”
Economy of Yorkshire
Yorkshire & Humber as a pioneering low-carbon economy
Thus Yorkshire & Humber has the potential to transform itself from
what was a heavily industrialised and energy-intensive economy to
a world leader in clean energy and environmental technologies.
Research on potential employment and value in offshore
wind/UK wind industry:
Currently, the UK wind industry employs 10,600 people with
numbers expected to rise to 88,300 by 2021. Also, a study
published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research
(CEBR, 2012) suggests that:
• the UK offshore wind industry is set to create almost 100,000
new jobs by the end of the decade;
• it estimates that the offshore wind industry will have created
45,000 jobs across the UK by 2015, rising to 97,000 by 2020;
• and by 2030 the figure will be 173,000 jobs.
Addressing the prospect of irreversible climate change is perhaps the most significant economic,
social and environmental challenge that confronts the world. The consequences of failing to
take the required action cannot be understated. Food and water shortages, rising sea levels and
economic crises are just some of the implications, should Governments fail to act decisively
because ignoring climate change will eventually damage economic growth, creating risks of
major disruption to economic and social activity.
The government expects the low-carbon and the
environmental sector to grow by £45 billion, totalling £150
billion by 2015 and employing 1.3 million, an increase of
400,000 from 2009. This presents huge opportunities for
the regional economy.
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
11. The economic projections and job prospects are estimated based on estimated/possible local
content (UK and Humber/Yorkshire regions) as percentages of the different cost elements
of four wind farms - (Humber Gateway, Westermost Rough, Hornsea, Dogger Bank) they are
offshore of the Humber estuary and are expected to produce 13,459–17,259 MW of renewable
energy.
Several reports (E.on, Dong, DECC) have estimated that altogether there could be 15,000 jobs
created in the Humber region.
Skill requirements and therefore job opportunities in offshore wind industry vary greatly, from
skilled craft people to scientists, pilots, managers and/or technicians.
It is important to note that jobs associated with manufacturing of turbines and balance of plants
can be sustainable only when a strong cluster of manufacturers and suppliers is built within the
region. The operations and maintenance jobs are expected to stay beyond 2020.
While there are some strengths and opportunities, the lack of skills and investment are among
the critical weaknesses to be addressed.
Economy of
Yorkshire
Siemens
Siemens has already agreed to
open an 800-workforce factory
in Hull and according to Parsons
Brinckerhoff (2012) 3,000-7,600
jobs would rapidly arrive into the
Humber-Sub Region by 2015,
but only in assembly
and manufacture.
.
Moreover, from a 2020 perspective The Prospects for Green Jobs to 2020 report
forecasts three scenarios as follows: Low: 5,400; Most Likely: 11,500; High: 16,000
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
12. Able Humber Port’s (AHP) proposed port expansion on the south side of the Humber
River includes a combined logistics and Business Park as well as the development of a
new marine energy park to house the offshore wind industry.
Economy of Yorkshire
Future Employment at AH
The logistics and Business Park is expected to feature:
• Warehousing; Storage and distribution
• Chilled and frozen logistics
• Data centre (s); Document storage
• Commodities storage and distribution
• New location vehicle storage
• Supporting services including a hotel and an HGV park
AHP estimate that by 2020,
the logistics and business
parks will have created 3,000
jobs. Skills for Logistics (2009)
predict a workforce increase
in the logistics sector of
1,000 workers by 2017 in the
Yorkshire and Humber region.
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
13. What is the Regional Growth Fund?
The Regional Growth Fund helps
businesses to grow and stimulates private
investment - creating and safeguarding
thousands of vital jobs across the country.
For every pound of government money,
the private sector puts in £5.50.
£310 million has been awarded to
49 businesses in Yorkshire and the
Humber since 2010; this helps to
create £1.6 billion worth of
private sector investment and
thousands of jobs.
Regional
Growth Fund
Surgical Innovations
300 new jobs are being created at this Leeds
based company thanks to an RGF investment
of more than £5 million. The investment
is being used to design and manufacture
creative solutions for minimally invasive
surgery and develop a state of the art research
and development facility and a clinical training
centre.
VTL Group
VTL Precision in Huddersfield successfully bid
for RGF investment in Round 2 and Round
3 to help boost jobs and create the next
generation gearbox components.
Haribo
The Haribo factory in Castleford received a £6.4
million RGF investment in Round 1.
Yorkshire’s mid-market businesses
account for 22 per cent of jobs in the
region
Allowing smaller firms to access the Regional
Growth Fund could generate £200m in GDP, of
which £60m would come from the mid-market.
Successful bids to the Regional Growth Fund in Yorkshire Include:
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
14. Research (September 2014) has confirmed that 70% of
Yorkshire firms plan to recruit additional skilled staff in the next
12 months.
An overwhelming 85% of Yorkshire businesses plan to invest in more than one operational area
in the next twelve months, including in new or additional facilities, machinery or production
processes. This is well above the national average of 74%.
Confidence among Yorkshire businesses is on the rise but the majority of employers are
concerned about skill shortages, which could consequently hinder progress and projects.
Summary
Recruitment
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
15. Need to strengthen & increase training
Yorkshire needs to overcome skill shortages
by establishing, consolidating and providing
training in offshore installation, O&M and
marine services as well as manufacturing.
Even though at present there is some training
available (marine related training), there is
a need to strengthen training provisions in
engineering, manufacturing, supply chain,
logistics, and complex project management.
Today, national and global demographic
changes are a potential catalyst for a long-
term systemic imbalance.
The consequences of a shortage of a skilled
workforce will mean higher wage-push
inflation and potential decreases in international
Summary
Addressing Skill Shortages
competitiveness, and even the erosion of
future domestic production capacity.
Three primary factors have been
identified as the reasons for a pending
systemic shortage:
• demographic changes
• changing labour force participation
patterns
• the need for productivity increases.
These three factors are important signals
that businesses must track in order to
determine the ultimate size and depth of
a systemic shortage.
Therefore, industries, schools, colleges
and universities in Yorkshire need to
consider methods to develop and attract
students to train and become successfully
skilful in a trade in order to accommodate
the current huge deficit of skilled workers
not only in Yorkshire but in the whole of
the UK.
Yorkshire and the Humber is the best
strategic location in Europe for leading
industries but now is the time for
companies to get more involved with
recruitment agencies, as skill shortages is
a problem that is going to require a long-
term process and companies cannot rely
on someone else sorting out the problem,
it is a matter which must be addressed
collectively – Cordant People offer expert
advice and are readily available to assist in
all matters of recruitment.
SMEs in Yorkshire
More than a third (35%)
of SMEs in Yorkshire and
the Humber believe they
will need enhanced or
increased digital capabilities
in the next three years,
in order to cope with the
ever-changing business
landscape. According to
research, of that number,
78% are worried about how
they will successfully up-
skill, with many firms citing
difficulties finding suitably
skilled staff.
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
16. Young people in Yorkshire and the Humber are among
some of the hardest hit in the country.
The Government must act now to create jobs and avoid a lost generation of young people. In
England, the North East, West Midlands, and Yorkshire & Humber have the highest proportion of
16-24 year olds who are NEET.
Youth unemployment has social consequences and the length of time a young person is
unemployed is particularly worrisome because it has long-term debilitating effects.
Germany has very low youth unemployment this is because Germany has well-functioning
apprenticeship programs and the introduction of short-time working policies that subsidize firms
when they reduce hours rather than lay off workers during a business slowdown.
Summary
Youth Unemployment
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
17. Furthermore, as a recruitment agency, we witness how young people tend
to push themselves, wanting to make a lasting impression and prove what
they can do. Their sheer determination to complete their work can inspire
colleagues around them. Therefore, if a company puts sufficient time and
thought into recruiting young people, it can subsequently provide a very
positive return on investment.
There are clear business benefits to employing young people
It is crucial for the wellbeing of young people that businesses throughout
Huddersfield and Yorkshire take real ownership for skills development and
good job creation because it is by local employers accepting responsibility
that the whole community will achieve a positive impact and sustainable
employment.
Summary
Advantages of recruiting young people
Fresh ideas
It is also important to remember that any young person
could be the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. In addition,
although they lack experience, new young people are generally
easier to train, due to being driven and eager to excel.
It is therefore imperative that representatives of companies, together with colleges and
universities throughout Yorkshire, should strategically consider methods of attracting
students and young people into their industry by creating incentive and lucrative offers
to influence an increased steady input of talented individuals to sustain, develop and
secure the future economy of Yorkshire.
Just by tapping into the huge numbers of unemployed young people in the region, a
company is not only providing jobs but will be allowing those young people to present
fresh ideas, vision and inspiration which are the necessities of every organisation.
Young people often have an abundance of energy and a natural thirst for
knowledge, which can rub off on colleagues and help invigorate the workplace.
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary
18. Cordant People constantly
endeavour to develop and
nurture relationships which they
have with all their candidates
on their database, as well
as continually seeking and
engaging with new candidates
to attract fresh talent.
At Cordant People we recognise, completely, that the long-term economic health of towns and
cities rests on investment in citizens’ skills and professional qualifications.
Also as a recruitment agency we acknowledge our responsibility “that we must always be at the
forefront of industry knowledge.”
It is our objective to help and assist all companies in Huddersfield and throughout Yorkshire
to recruit and employ successful candidates in order that they may fulfil business targets and
compete in today’s increasingly competitive global markets.
Summary
Cordant’s Objective
Regional Profile:
Huddersfield &
Yorkshire
Overview | Economy | Regional Growth Fund | Summary