'Wakefield is open for business': New growth blueprint promises better-paid jobs
Senior councillors are set to adopt a new economic growth plan aimed at boosting business
Senior councillors are set to adopt a new economic growth plan aimed at boosting business across Wakefield and providing “more high-quality employment opportunities for residents.”
A report to the Reform UK-led authority’s cabinet members sets out a blueprint to make more of the district’s “strengths”, including its transport links, manufacturing base, logistics sector and growing cultural industries.
The document also outlines plans for residents to have better access to housing and local services.
Andrew Wakefield, cabinet member for strategic housing, skills and business growth, said the plan had been designed to “help create a more prosperous district.”
He said: “We want to make it easier for new and existing businesses to invest and grow in our district.
“We’re here to help remove obstacles and cut any unnecessary red tape.
“The plan focuses on attracting the type of new investment that leads to more high-quality and better paid jobs for residents.
“A key part of the plan is to bring in more investment, grow key sectors in our district, and help businesses to start, expand, and succeed in Wakefield, creating more secure and skilled jobs so that local people benefit from a stronger, more productive economy.”
“Our message is clear. Wakefield is open for business.”
In 2024, the council set up the Wakefield Futures Commission year after figures revealed the number of people in the district with qualifications above A-level fall well below the national average.
Wakefield is England’s largest city without a university and faces “significant challenges in developing and retaining higher-level skills among its residents”, the local authority previously said.
According to data, in Wakefield, the average worker produces £55,750 per year for the economy, compared with £67,338 nationally.
Jobs growth in the district has been strong, but the majority of new posts are in lower-skilled sectors, with just 8.2% of jobs in knowledge-intensive industries such as advanced manufacturing, digital or the creative industries.
To match the West Yorkshire average, the district would need 12,000 more higher-skilled roles.
The report, to be considered at a cabinet meeting on July 21, said: “Wakefield’s economy has delivered stability, employment and opportunity for many years, but the evidence is clear that without purposeful intervention it risks remaining locked in a low skill, low wage trajectory that limits prosperity for residents and constrains investment potential.
“This growth plan therefore represents a decisive step change, moving from managing economic pressures to actively shaping a stronger, more productive and more inclusive economic future.”