UK - West Midlands

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county located in the central region of England.

It is made up of seven metropolitan boroughs and has a population of 5.9 million people.
1. Birmingham
2. Coventry
3. Dudley
4. Sandwell
5. Solihull
6. Walsall
7. Wolverhampton
In terms of demographics, the West Midlands is a diverse region with a mix of ethnicities, cultures, and religions.

Many languages are spoken by the region's large South Asian and Eastern European communities, which have grown significantly in recent years.

In terms of age distribution, the West Midlands has a slightly younger population than the national average, with a higher proportion of people aged under 25.

The West Midlands has a long history of commerce and industrialization, and has been a hub of innovation and enterprise since the Industrial Revolution.

There are numerous reasons why Birmingham is referred to as the “workshop of the world”, it has been producing a wide range of goods from jewellery to cars for hundreds of years.

From the sixteenth century, the UK’s second city was the centre of the metal working industries & the blacksmiths were called upon to manufacture over 15,000 sword blades for the Parliament forces.

Birmingham is located near the coalfields of Northern Warwickshire and is at the centre of the UK’s canal system. The Birmingham Canal was built from 1768 to 1772.

Due to these fantastic transport links, Birmingham became an increasingly large part of a global economy – products from Birmingham found their way to Europe, America, Asia and Africa.

By the 18th century Birmingham was the greatest industrial city in the world.

In the mid 1830’s Birmingham also became the centre of the Grand Junction Railways linking London and Birmingha m, becoming the hub of the national railway.

By the early 20th century Birmingham became the “city of a thousand trades” emerging as a place with the ability to craft and manufacture trade goods.

Birmingham is now the #1 city in the UK for producing the highest number of inventions.

The largest cities and towns in the West Midlands according to the UK Office for National Statistics as of mid-2020 range in size from 1.1m - 109,000 population:

1. Birmingham - 1,150,000
2. Coventry - 376,000
3. Wolverhampton - 262,000
4. Dudley - 200,000
5. Walsall - 174,000
6. West Bromwich - 166,000
7. Solihull - 141,000
8. Sutton Coldfield - 109,000

FDI and company investment in the West Midlands have been important drivers of economic growth and job creation in the region. According to data from the UK Department for International Trade, the West Midlands received more than 250 FDI projects between 2015 and 2020, making it one of the most popular regions for foreign investment in the UK.
Some well known employers in the region include:

• Jaguar Land Rover (Premium automotive manufacturer & SSC)
• Aston Martin (Luxury automotive manufacturer)
• Cadbury (Chocolate Manufacturer)
• Deutsche Bank (Technology Centre)
• Amazon (fulfilment centre)
• HSBC (Banking HQ)
• JCB (Commercial Machinery)
• Caterpillar (Shared Service Centre)
• Siemens (Shared Service Centre)

The West Midlands has a significant presence of BPO, contact centre, and shared service centre operations, which employ multilingual staff (Images of Capita, Serco, Sitel, Sigma, Mondelez & Infosys

The West Midlands is home to a number of world-renowned educational institutions and universities.
1. University of Birmingham
2. Aston University
3. University of Warwick
4. Coventry University
5. University of Wolverhampton
6. Birmingham City University
7. Newman University
8. Harper Adams University (located just outside the West Midlands in Shropshire, but has a campus in Telford)
9. University College Birmingham
10. Staffordshire University (has a campus in Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent, which are both located just outside the West Midlands, but serve the region)

Birmingham & the West Midlands is a diverse, vibrant, multicultural region that offers employment for a wide range of skills & professions.

If you are interested in a multilingual job in the West Midlands, go to www.Language.Careers and see if we have a role for you!