Workforce statistics
- Newport has access to nearly half a million economically active people within 30 minutes’ drive and 1.6 million people within an hour's drive
- Newport’s workforce has a proven track record of flexibility, loyalty and dedication. Salary costs are some of the most competitive in the UK and staff retention is higher than the UK average
-
There is expertise across a wide range of sectors. Newport supports some of the UK’s (and Wales’) established world leading clusters and sectoral strengths, including those in compound semi-conductors, advanced manufacturing, and Fin-Tech. For example, the compound semiconductor cluster is estimated to have supported £180m of gross value added in 2019, and more than 95% of manufactured products are bound for export markets.
-
Global leaders in technology, manufacturing, distribution, financial services, and public sector organisations are located in Newport, attracted by the city’s superb location and large workforce – Gocompare.com, Airbus, Lloyds Banking Group, Vantage, KLA (SPTS), IQE, Amazon, Office for National Statistics and the Intellectual Property Office.
- 97% of young people in Newport are in education, employment or training
- Office space and salary costs are 40% lower than London
- Staff retention in Newport is higher than the UK average
- Private and public sector organisations in Newport are committed to helping employers fulfil their recruitment and skills needs
Education, skills and training
Universities
Newport has an award-winning university in the city centre – part of the University of South Wales (USW). A core USW strength is to deliver industry relevant education and research that is applied to real life.
Other highly ranked universities within 30 miles of Newport are Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Bristol University and the University of the West of England.
Newport is realising its ambition to become a national digital hub delivering industry relevant education and research. We are home to:
- The National Cyber Security Academy (NCSA), the first of its kind in Wales is located in University of South Wales’s city centre campus. It is a joint public/private sector initiative with industry names including Airbus, General Dynamics UK, Wolfberry and the South Wales Cyber Security Cluster
- TESTIA (an Airbus company) is here, training highly skilled engineers for the aerospace industry
- The Alacrity Foundation UK provides an intensive training environment to prepare graduates for entrepreneurship in the technology sector
Other
- Coleg Gwent is one of Wales’ top performing further education colleges with a campus in Newport delivering vocational and main qualifications