This event examines how the UK’s £80bn Industrial Strategy (IS-8) is already reshaping the jobs market, highlighting early impacts across cleantech, digital, telecoms and other strategic sectors, alongside emerging skills and regional growth trends. Set against a shifting geopolitical and fiscal backdrop, it brings together leading industry experts to provide actionable insights into 2025 hiring patterns, investment priorities and the sectors set to outperform.
This event will present an in-depth analysis of how the Labour Government’s IS-8 strategy and wider £80bn investment programme are already reshaping the UK job market across key strategic industries and regions. This event will also explore emerging growth sectors and skills demands amid rising geopolitical tensions, with insights from leading industry bodies and experts, followed by an interactive panel discussion for attendees.
Between 2023 and 2024, professional vacancies in the Midlands fell 9.0%, outpacing the national decline of 1.5%, with the West Midlands seeing the sharpest drop. Economic pressures, including retail closures and a slowdown in investment, have driven this regional contraction.
Regional disparities in recruitment highlight increasing economic imbalances across the UK. In 2024, London was the only region to see YoY growth, boosting its share of total vacancies from 34.4% to 36.8%.
After a subdued 2023, the UK’s life sciences industry saw stabilised recruitment in 2024, with vacancies rising 5.2% year-on-year to 7,521.
