West Cumbria Opportunities & Challenges 2025 24 25 Employment and Skills Meaningful employment that pays a fair living wage underpins so much of what is valuable in life, enabling people to rise out of poverty and overcome the disadvantages they face. Having access to good quality skills development, training and apprenticeships improves chances to access employment, which in turn provides financial security and opens up opportunities for individuals and their families. Worthwhile employment and educational engagement can also improve mental health, bringing meaning, structure and status to individual and family lives. But not everyone in West Cumbria is able to access the advantages that employment and education bring. There are increasing numbers of people who are unable to work due to ill health which in conjunction with an ageing population, leads to labour market shortages. Moving people away from the benefits system to ensure that work, training or education are financially attractive propositions is also a growing challenge for some localities across West Cumbria EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE West Cumbria is a place of employment contrast. High skilled, high paid employment is available through several large and established industrial and manufacturing employers including Sellafield Ltd (the largest employer in West Cumbria supporting 11,000 direct jobs and 40,000 jobs in the associated supply chain)1 and companies such as Core Nuclear Group in Workington, Forth Engineering in Maryport, New Balance in Flimby, M-Sport UK in Dovenby, Innovia Films in Wigton, James Walker in Cockermouth and First Milk Cheese Co Ltd in Aspatria. There are also opportunities working in public services such as education, health, local government and in the emergency services. In addition, there are lower skilled employment opportunities, often part time, particularly in the tourism, care and service sectors. However, partly due to changes post Brexit, there are also high rates of vacancies within these sectors, which previously had relied on individuals moving from the European Union to take up job opportunities in these sectors. In April 2025, the top five job postings in Cumbria were care workers, kitchen & catering assistants, cleaners & domestics and sales related.2 More specifically for West Cumbria, Workington had 303 postings; Whitehaven, 284, Keswick, 222, Cockermouth, 169, Wigton 136, and Millom 134. Across Cumbria, the most postings were from the NHS with 690 postings. Other postings included 62 jobs with Morson Talent and 50 with Matchtech who both recruit employees to work in the nuclear industry. Employment opportunities are also available in new business start-ups. In April 2025, there were 144 business start-ups across Cumbria and there were 15 new Companies House incorporations in Copeland and 40 in Allerdale.3 1 https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/sellafield-ltd/about#:~:text=Our%2011%2C000%20strong%20workforce%20is,businesses%20to%20global%20market%20leaders 2 Labour Market Briefing May 2025: Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, May 2025. 3 Labour Market Briefing May 2025: Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, May 2025. 4 In 2024, Lakes College was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for developing skilled workers to meet the UK’s nuclear energy and low carbon labour needs. 5 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1w78ge29ejo 6 Spark is aimed at supporting entrepreneurial talent. Positive Enterprise is designed to unlock entrepreneurial spirit in young people. Both schemes are funded as part of Transforming West Cumbria 2020-2024 in conjunction with Sellafield Ltd. 7 Labour Market Briefing May 2025: Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, May 2025. 8 The figures quoted refer to all claimants of Universal Credit. This includes those who are both in work and out of work. 9 Labour Market Briefing May 2025: Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, May 2025. 10 Labour Market Briefing May 2025: Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, May 2025. • Internationally recognised centre of nuclear expertise, offering well paid jobs, high-quality skills development and supply chain opportunities. • Award winning further educational provision at Lakes College4 working in partnership with business and industry, and other providers such as Energus, Gen2 and the National College for Nuclear, to meet labour market needs. • Regeneration and business growth initiatives including Future High Street Funding and Town Deals are providing targeted investments into economic assets, including town centres and business parks. • Vibrant visitor economy with new initiatives aimed at promoting West Cumbria’s coastal and natural landscapes. These include visitor attractions such as the Solway Coast Cycle Path as well as related activities including the inclusive cycling hub at Cumbria Sports Academy in Whitehaven,5 that extend the visitor base and open up attractions to all. • Track record of successful initiatives that support the development of entrepreneurship and social enterprise, including the Spark programme and Positive Enterprise.6 • Only 36.2% of working age people in Cumberland are qualified to Level 4 or above, lower than the national average of 47.4%.7 • Increasing numbers of Universal Credit claimants in Allerdale and Copeland. In March 2025, 9,799 (17.1%) in Allerdale and 6,821 people (16.6%) in Copeland were accessing this benefit, an increase of 8.7% and 10.5% respectively from the previous year.8 • Universal Credit Claimant rates for 18-24 and 25-34 year olds above the national averages in both Allerdale and Copeland.9 • The number of people out of the labour market due to ill health is at an all-time high. There has been an increase of 19.3% over the past year in the number of people accessing Universal Credit Health benefits.10 • Super-ageing population combined with an outward migration of young people and changing immigration policy post Brexit, is presenting challenges for current and future labour market supply. • Changing trends towards online shopping and home working post Covid-19, are necessitating a rethink about how the vitality, vibrancy and connectivity of West Cumbria’s urban and rural areas can be improved and sustained. • Lack of diversity within local economic sectors, including a dependency on the nuclear industry, a reliance on agriculture in rural areas, and the seasonal nature of the tourism and visitor economy sector. OPPORTUNITIES CHALLENGES High skilled, high paid employment is available through several large and established industrial and manufacturing employers. 11 It is noted that the sample sizes in Cumbria are small so margins of error may be high. 12 Labour Market Briefing May 2025: Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, May 2025. 13 For an explanation as to how these figures are calculated, and from which source, please refer to https://elibrary.cumbria.gov.uk/Content/Internet/536/671/4674/17217/17224/4579011028.PDF 14 Labour Market Briefing May 2025: Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, May 2025. 15 Labour Market Briefing May 2025: Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, May 2025. 16 Labour Market Briefing May 2025: Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, May 2025. 17 The claimant count is a measure of those claiming benefits principally for the reason of being unemployed. It counts those on Job Seekers Allowance and those on Universal Credit who are required to seek work. 18 Labour Market Briefing May 2025: Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, May 2025.
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