02/05/2013
Representatives from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) are to visit Stoke-On-Trent and Staffordshire next week. The two day trip, organised by Make It Stoke-On-Trent & Staffordshire, showcased the region’s automotive and advanced manufacturing industries.
Part of UKTI’s role is to encourage and support overseas companies looking to relocate or open a new base in the UK and as a result it receives regular enquiries from companies looking to move to the UK market.
Make It Stoke-On-Trent & Staffordshire, the inward investment partnership between Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, arranged the visit to ensure that UKTI understands the region’s strengths in the advanced engineering and automotive sectors.
On Tuesday 30th April, delegates attended i54 South Staffordshire site of Jaguar Land Rover's new £500m engine plant.
John Willis, head of Make It Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire, said: “Our aim is to ensure that UKTI think of us as a great place to do business for organisations in the automotive and advanced manufacturing sectors.
“Here in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, more than 39,000 people are employed in advanced manufacturing, representing 9.5% of employees, compared to the national average of 6.7%. What’s more we have a highly qualified workforce, with 19 per cent undertaking workforce training and both Staffordshire and Keele Universities have widely respected engineering and computing faculties.
“Add to that, sites that are ready for development, good supply chain opportunities and our central location in the heart of the UK and it’s easy to see why Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire makes the perfect base for other businesses in the sector.”
Richard Higgins, Senior Sector Lead for Advanced Engineering, at UKTI said “To secure high-value foreign direct investment it is vital for us to have a thorough understanding of the industrial strengths and capabilities that exist in the UK. Visits of this kind provide that collateral, which in turn will enable us to cascade it to our global network.”