West Midlands

At the heart of the UK, lies the West Midlands region. A region long recognised as the centre of Britain's industry, the commercial hub of the UK.

Industry and Business

The West Midlands has a number of highly successful business sectors, with major strengths in manufacturing, information and communications technology, and business and professional services supported by ready access to expert advice, funding and business networks.

High technology companies sit alongside established manufacturing companies here. Internationally famous brands such as Land Rover, JCB and Wedgwood started, and continue to succeed here. Our location and available skill base have attracted high profile companies such as Fujitsu and Vodaphone to relocate to the West Midlands. Our dynamic IT sector is the recognised centre of the UK software industry. The region is home to the fastest-growing finance and business services sector outside London, employing over 100,000 people in Birmingham alone.

Diversity

The West Midlands is geographically, industrially and culturally diverse. In fact the West Midlands is one of the most ethically diverse parts of the country outside London with over 10% of the population belonging to a non-white ethnic group.

Graduate Education in the West Midlands

The West Midlands region has some of the finest educational establishments in the country. We have thirteen higher education establishments providing higher education courses to over 170,000 studies, ensuring a diverse pool of available talent that is constantly evolving and growing.

Our excellent universities offer real variety. Many regional establishments have received high praise and awards. The West Midlands has two of the UK's top five business schools and MBA courses in Aston and Warwick are ranked as some of the world's finest. In fact IBM rate Aston as Europe's best business school for quality of recruits.

Higher education and business have a long tradition of successful partnership in the West Midlands region. Educational establishments constantly help through consultancy, research, technology transfer, training, short courses and student placements.

Investment in the Future

Just some examples of our educational initiatives include:

• A major £100 million scheme to develop a University Quarter at the heart of Stoke-on-Trent. Campuses belonging to Staffordshire University, City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College and Stoke-on-Trent College are at the forefront of plans to create a modern city neighbourhood designed to make learning accessible to the local community.

• A £13.6 million landmark campus is being developed for Solihull College, providing a modern purpose-built environment for vocational learning along with training facilities, IT rooms, nursery and an iconic three-storey glass atrium.

• An £11million IT Futures Centre in the University of Wolverhampton supports innovation in information and communications technologies.

Links with Industry

A major strength of the West Midlands region is the availability of new student talent.

Thanks to the superb educational facilities throughout the region, we have potential recruits with the highest credentials ensuring a multi-skilled workforce which is constantly evolving.

The skilled individuals offered by our excellent universities and the strong links which exist between local companies and the educational community ensure West Midlands' businesses keep ahead of the competition.

There's no doubt that West Midlands is an excellent environment for you to study and grow as an individual. It’s a region that's full of surprises. A region that's truly at the heart of it all.