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What is personal development (PD)? PD is about self improvement and satisfaction. It is open for everyone and can be done for one or many of the following reasons:
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Look at the West Midlands

 

The West Midlands region is situated in the heart of England, covering 15,500 square kilometres, and having a population of 6 million, around 10% of the UK’s total. Just 1.2 million people reside in the region’s rural areas, in 97 market towns and 2,300 villages, with Oxfordshire, Herefordshire and Shropshire being the least densely populated counties. It also includes the unitary authorities of Stoke-on-Trent and Telford and Wrekin; and the seven metropolitan districts of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

Birmingham, England’s second largest city, contains a million people at the heart of a 2.5 million-person conurbation covering the Black Country, Solihull and Coventry.The other main population centre is Stoke-on-Trent (240,000 people).The age structure of the West Midlands mirrors the national picture, with 30% of the region’s workforce being under 34 years old.

The economic growth rate is around the national average, while the total gross value added (GVA) of £85 billion comes from a wide and varied economy. This figure is 8% of the UK’s total, and a GVA per head of around £16,000 is 90% of the UK average, although it disguises wide variations between different parts of the region. The West Midlands provides just over 8% of the UK’s total exports by value. It has 2.5 million people in employment and another 150,000-plus unemployed (an unemployment rate of just over 6%). However, another 150,000 people are economically active, while a further 500,000-plus are inactive.

Employment in the region by sector is as follows:

Companies Employees

Agriculture and fishing 600 4,500

Energy and water 300 11,200

Manufacturing 18,700 350,700

Construction 19,500 118,800

Distribution, hotels, restaurants59,300 564,600

Transport and communications9,700 132,800

Banking, finance and insurance 59,200 424,100

Public administration and education 18,100 632,300

Other services 14,900 121,900

The region remains the capital of UK manufacturing (employing 15% of the workforce and producing more than £15 billion – nearly 20% of the area’s total and 10% of the UK’s total) with the motor industry being the largest. By 2015, manufacturing is expected to contribute 20% of the region’s GVA – the highest of any UK region. Other key sectors include aerospace, plastics and rubber processing, software, food and drink, electronics, and telecommunications. The region also has the fastest-growing service sector in the UK and the largest concentration of professional firms outside London. This sector provides more than half the region’s GVA (£41.9 billion) with the largest sector being property and business services (£17.8 billion) followed by health and social work (£6.1 billion), education (£5.4 billion) and financial services (£4.5 billion).

Birmingham is the UK’s largest business and professional services sector outside London, employing some 100,000 people. ICT is a growth sector, with one-third of all UK publicly quoted software and computer services companies operating in the region. However, changes are required to improve economic performance. These include reversing a population decline, diversifying the economy, changing the occupational structure to create more senior and professional occupations, and upgrading the skills of the workforce.

There are 12 universities and HE establishments (student population more than 180,000, producing 35,000 graduates and 15,000 postgraduate qualifications annually), some 50 FE colleges, eight science parks, a range of internationally recognised research institutions and two of the UK’s top business schools. The region has particular strengths in computer science, medicine, business administration, engineering, technology and education. Research institutions include expertise in automotive design and development, agriculture, polymer research, ceramics, and science and technology.

Motorways linking the north with the south of England meet in the Birmingham and Coventry areas. The rail link between London and the north-west of England and Scotland passes through Birmingham and Coventry, while the Midland Metro light rail service operates between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, with a 20-kilometre stretch of track serving 23 stations in Birmingham and the Black Country.

Birmingham is the UK’s second largest airport outside London, serving more than 100 destinations in Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. Additionally, CoventryAirport serves 15 European cities. Three-quarters of the UK’s population is within five hours’ truck drive, with all the major European cities within 48 hours’ journey.

Tourism is a strong and growing sector, with 300,000 people employed and 28,000 businesses operating in the region. Attractions range from the historic, like Stratford-upon-Avon and WarwickCastle, to modern attractions such as AltonTowers and the National Sea Life Centre. The area hosts many major sporting events and contains significant arts institutions. It is home to many prestigious sporting events, including Premiership football, test match cricket at Edgbaston, Ryder Cup golf at the Belfry and Davis Cup tennis, as well as arts organisations such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The region boasts 20,000 hectares of National Park and 127,000 hectares of land designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from the Peak District and Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, the Shropshire Hills, Herefordshire and the WyeValley to Worcestershire, the gateway to the Cotswolds and home to the Malvern Hills.

Useful Contact Details

 

Company 

     

Category

Name

Telephone

Weblink

Building Trades TC Training Ltd 0121 788 2165 www.tctraininglimited.co.uk
Health & Safety Corporate Risk Systems 01283 509175  
 
 
Higher education
   

College / University

Telephone

Weblink

Aston University Birmingham 0121 204 3000  
Birmingham City University 0121 331 5000  
Coventry University 024 7688 7688  
Harper Adams University College, Newport 01952 820280  
Keele University, Staffordshire 01782 621111  
Newman University College, Birmingham 0121 476 1181  
Oxford Brookes University 01865 741111  
Staffordshire University 01782 294000  
University College, Birmingham 0121 604 1000  
University of Birmingham 0121 414 3344  
University of Oxford 01865 270000  
University of Warwick 0247 652 3523  
University of Wolverhampton 0190 232 1000  
University of Worcester 01905 855000  
     
Further education
   

College

Telephone

Weblink

Ashorne Hill Management College 01926 488000  
Abingdon and Witney College 01235 555585  
Birmingham Metropolitan College 01214 464545  
Bournville College, Northfield 0121 483 1000  
Burton College 01283 494400  
Cannock Chase Technical College 01543 462200  
City College, Birmingham 0121 204 0000  
City College, Coventry 02476 791000  
City of Stoke on Trent Sixth Form College 01782 848736  
Dudley College 01384 363000  
South Worcestershire College 01386 712600  
Fircroft College of Adult Education 0121 472 0116  
Halesowen College 0121 602 7777  
Henley College, Coventry 0800 252772  
Henley College, Henley-on-Thames 01491 579988  
Herefordshire College of Arts 01432 273359  
Herefordshire College of Technology, Hereford 0800 032 1986  
Hereward College, Coventry 02476 461231  
Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, Birmingham 0121 446 2223  
Kidderminster College 01562 820811  
Leek College of FE and School of Art 01538 398866  
Ludlow College 01584 872846  
New College, Telford 01952 641892  
Newcastle-under-Lyme College 01782 715111  
North East Worcestershire College, Bromsgrove 01527 570020  
North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, Nuneaton 02476 243000  
Oxford and Cherwell Valley College, Banbury 01865 550550  
RodbastonCollege, Penkridge 01785 712209  
RuskinCollege, Oxford 01865 554331  
Sandwell College, Wednesbury 0800 622006  
Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology 01743 342342  
Solihull College 0121 678 7000  
South Birmingham College 0121 694 5000  
Stafford College 01785 223800  
Stoke-on-Trent College 01782 208208  
Stourbridge College 01384 344344  
Stratford upon Avon College 01789 266245  
Tamworth and Lichfield College 01827 310202  
Telford College of Arts and Technology

01952 642200

 
Walford & North Shropshire College, Shrewsbury 01691 688000  
Walsall College of Arts and Technology 01922 657000  
Warwickshire College, Royal Leamington Spa 0800 783 6767  
Wolverhampton College 01902 836000  
WorcesterCollege of Technology 01905 725555  
Worcester Sixth Form College 01905 362600  
     
Councils
   

District / Borough

Telephone

Weblink

Advantage West Midlands 0121 380 3500  
BirminghamCity 0121 303 1111  
Bridgnorth District 01746 713100  
Bromsgrove District 01527 881288  
Cannock Chase District 01543 462621  
Cherwell District 01295 252535  
Coventry Metropolitan 024 7683 3333  
Dudley Metropolitan Borough 01384 812345  
East Staffordshire Borough 01283 508000  
Government Office for the West Midlands 0121 352 5050  
Herefordshire County 01432 260000  
Lichfield District 01543 308000  
Malvern Hills District 01684 862151  
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough 01782 717717  
North Shropshire District 01939 232771  
North Warwickshire Borough 01827 715341  
Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough 024 7637 6376  
Oswestry Borough 01691 671111  
Oxford City 01865 249811  
Oxfordshire County 01865 792422  
Redditch Borough 01527 64252  
Rugby Borough 01788 533533  
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough 0845 358 2200  
Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough 01743 281000  
Shropshire County 0845 678 9000  
Solihull Metropolitan Borough 0121 704 6000  
South Oxfordshire District 01491 823000  
South Shropshire District 01584 813000  
South Staffordshire 01902 696000  
Stafford Borough 01785 619000  
Staffordshire County 01785 223121  
Staffordshire Moorlands District 0845 605 3010  
Stoke-on-Trent City 01782 234567  
Stratford-on-Avon District 01789 267575  
Tamworth Borough 01827 709709  
Telford & Wrekin 01952 380000  
Vale of White Horse District 01235 520202  
Walsall Metropolitan Borough 01922 650000  
Warwick District 01926 450000  
Warwickshire County

0845 090 7000

 
West Midlands Regional Assembly 01212 450200  
West Oxfordshire District 01993 861000  
Wolverhampton City 01902 551155  
Worcester City 01905 722233  
Worcestershire County 01905 763763  
Wychavon District 01386 565000  
Wyre Forest District 01562 732928  
     
Learning and Skills Councils
   

Region

Telephone

Weblink

Birmingham & Solihull 0845 019 4143  
Black Country 0845 019 4186  
Coventry & Warwickshire 0845 019 4156  
Hereford & Worcester 0845 019 4188  
Shropshire 0845 019 4190  
Staffordshire 0845 019 4149  
Thames Valley 0845 019 4147  
     
Service education and resettlement advisers    
Army
   
15 Army Education Centre, Bicester (education) 01869 256560  
15 Army Education Centre, Bicester (resettlement) 01869 256458  
20 Army Education Centre, Bramcote (education) 01455 222379  
20 Army Education Centre, Bramcote (resettlement) 01455 222371  
RAF
   
RAF Benson (learning)

01491 837766
Ext 7366

 
RAF Benson (resettlement) 01491 837766
Ext 7605
 
RAF Brize Norton (learning) 01993 896761  
RAF Brize Norton (resettlement) 01993 897277  
RAF Cosford 01902 377552  
RAF Cosford 01902 377118  
RAF Shawbury (learning) 01939 250351
Ext 7176
 
RAF Shawbury (resettlement) 01939 250351
Ext 7420
 
RAF Stafford (learning and resettlement) 01785 787463
01785 787635
 
     
Regular Forces Employment Association
   
Birmingham 0121 236 2884  
     
     
     
     
     
 
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