Shared Vision: Training & Career Development in Northampton
The Current Job Market and Employment Opportunities in Northampton
Northampton is one of the largest towns in the UK, and this, plus its proximity to the M1 motorway, and its geographical location have allowed the town's many industries to grow and flourish over the decades. Being an old market town with plenty of history, Northampton has always had a good range of industries, though the town has always been most famous for its shoe industry. There are still a number of original shoemakers left in the town, but today, manufacturing, information technology, brewing and engineering are the most common industries. In Northampton, the highest rates of employment are in retail and customer service, business administration and finance, engineering and manufacturing, construction, health care, and catering and hospitality. Logistics is also a large feature business thanks to the proximity of the M1/M6/M40, and to the huge rail freight terminal, 14 miles away at Daventry.
Catering (hotels and restaurants) and finance (banking and insurance) employment levels are above the national average, due to large banking administration locations and insurance firms in the town. Some of the biggest private employers in Northampton are Weetabix, Travis Perkins, Nationwide Building Society, RS Components, iPSL and Barclaycard. Nationwide and Barclaycard alone provide over 5,000 jobs within credit, insurance and personal banking.
Professional career development in Northampton
Northampton has both a college and a university which provide business career development courses, apprenticeships and training schemes. The Northampton College Business Centre offers a very large range of courses and programmes such as accounting apprenticeships, business administration apprenticeships, leadership and management courses, and NVQs in business improvement techniques. The University of Northampton is renowned for its business training solutions for the public and private sectors. Training courses include leadership and management development, bespoke training, NBS corporate training, and work-based learning.
The government also provides grants for certain courses under the National Apprenticeship Service for 16 to 24-year-olds, which allows you to take on an apprenticeship with a business in Northampton and received a grant for £1500. There is a list of apprenticeships vacancies on the Northampton College website which is updated frequently.
Northampton has a number of business parks and science parks such as Brackmills and the Northampton Science Park, and these and other independent locations offer training scheme partnerships with the Northampton College, and graduate training schemes in areas such as Marketing, Accounts, Logistics and Sales. You can search any good job site for the latest available training schemes.
Northampton's business market is growing, and there are now a number of business networking groups which aim to get like-minded business people together, develop partnerships and generate leads. Such groups include Name Droppers, SC Agency and BMI. S.C. Agency run B2B and social networking events just outside of town, and BMI is one of the largest and most successful business networking groups in Europe with locations in Northampton. Oaktree networking is concerned with the development of companies and start-ups, and they provide a number of local networking events and meetings to help businesspeople and entrepreneurs across Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire to meet and expand their business. The South Northamptonshire Council also offers networking events aimed at the development of new businesses. Groups involved with these events include the Northamptonshire chamber of commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses.
The Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership was launched in 2011 to help support and develop businesses in Northampton and the county. Opportunities and initiatives are available along with networking for business and enterprise across Northampton's key market sectors, and there are also opportunities for fledgling businesspeople and graduates, such as Northampton Futures, which is a leading business networking group for young professionals.
You'll find more information about business training companies and services on Actual Northampton.
Further Considerations: If you have not yet learned to drive now is a good time to make a start. Not all positions are located within easy walking distance of public transport and some positions, such as sales and on site support, require that you be able to drive. If you have a license it makes you more desirable as a candidate and provides you with greater flexibility in the roles you can apply for and locations you can work in. To find a driving school in your area visit this site.
Recommended by Prime Office Space, the commercial property partner for Shared Vision: Training & Career Development in Northampton.
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