What about the workers?

In his column Professor Frank Peck of the University of Cumbria’s Centre for Regional Economic Development explains the latest economic data. This month: the future of employment and skills in Cumbria. If latest projections come to fruition, the long-term future for jobs in Cumbria looks bright. The most recent analysis has been published by Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (the Skills Investment Plan for Cumbria). This document makes very interesting reading. There are plans in key sectors that are likely to create significant employment opportunities in the county over the next five to 10 years. In the nuclear industry, plans for decommissioning are expected to secure the future of 10,000 workers currently employed at Sellafield and as more decommissioning activity becomes operational, it is expected that jobs will expand in number in the supply chain. The prospect of nuclear new build at Moorside could sustain further additional employment for another 1,000 people. In Barrow, anticipated work on the successor nuclear submarine programme is also set to grow by an estimated 800 jobs. All told, it is suggested that the plans for the nuclear sector alone could create 7,300 new jobs. Employment growth does not stop with the nuclear industry. The county has already witnessed new investment in its manufacturing base particularly in the south of the county at the facilities operated by GlaxoSmithKline and also at Siemens subsea technologies.