People & Skills
"Bristol is a popular option for young and talented people looking to develop their careers." David Macdonald, Communications Manager, Orange.
Bristol has a dynamic and highly skilled workforce, which continues to display strength in terms of its size, occupational mix and levels of qualification.
The population of the Bristol city region is approximately one million and is projected to grow by over 100,000 by 2026. Employers within the city region have access to a 600,000 workforce living within 1 hour's travel of Bristol.
Bristol has the greatest proportion of highly qualified workers of any comparable English city outside London. In 2007 43.5% of Bristol's resident working age population in employment were qualified to degree level or above. This was a significant increase from 38.2% in 2005 and is well above the national average at 33.3%.
These figures demonstrate that Bristol outstrips rival English cities with its pool of highly qualified workers.
Bristol has more people employed in knowledge intensive businesses (91,100 employees) than Oxford and Cambridge combined according to the Centre for Cities.
The Bristol city region hosts four prestigious universities (University of Bristol, University of the West of England, University of Bath and Bath Spa University). Approximately 17,000 students graduate annually from the four universities.
These education institutions offer a wide range of courses and promote strong links with local businesses. Bristol's graduates demonstrate a high propensity to stay in the city to pursue careers and the city's working population shows a strong inclination to get involved in work related training.
Bristol has two colleges of further education – City of Bristol College and South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (Formerly Filton College) – which offer courses in a wide range of vocational and academic subjects. City of Bristol College is one of the largest colleges in the UK with over 30,000 students and thousands of courses.
Please contact the Economy Enterprise & Inclusion Team of Bristol City Council for further information.
Tel: +44(0)117 92 22928
Email: investinbristol@bristol.gov.uk