Employment and skills in Newark and Sherwood

In this report we present the findings of a survey of businesses located in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire. The survey focuses on growth, employment, skills, training and business advice and includes businesses across a wider range of sectors, from sole traders to large employers and from recent start-ups to long established businesses. The majority of firms have fewer than five employees. When recruiting, smaller firms tend to prefer local advertising and word of mouth rather than more formal channels. Almost 60% of businesses are seeking growth, with just 5.6% expecting to downsize. Low confidence in the economy is the main restraint on growth, with the cost of staff and a lack of finance for investment also cited by over a third of respondents. Over half of the business owners who responded had moved into the district during their adult lives and they are more likely to be looking for growth in the next 2 years compared to indigenous business owners. These in-migrants conduct the majority of their trade within the local area but also have higher levels of export and nationwide trade compared to locally owned businesses. Therefore local development policy must take into account wider business dynamics and networks. A lack of motivation in the workforce is seen as a problem when recruiting staff across most business sectors, although not in manufacturing. The most difficult skills to find when recruiting are identified as customer service skills, technical skills and written communication

Entrepreneurial in-migrants and economic development in rural England

Counterurbanisation has generally been viewed as a negative phenomenon, but Stockdale and Findlay (2004) presented rural in-migration as potentially “a catalyst for economic regeneration” based on in-migrants’ business activity. More than half of rural microbusinesses in the North-East of England are owned by in-migrants and provide an estimated 10% of jobs in the rural North-East (Bosworth, 2006). In the light of these new drivers of rural development, exogenous and endogenous approaches alone are increasingly inadequate (Lowe et al., 1995; Murdoch, 2000; Terluin, 2003). Ray instead proposed Neo-Endogenous Development, defined as “endogenous based development in which extra-local factors are recognised as essential but which retains belief in the potential of local areas to shape their future” (2001, p.4). Preliminary research suggests that in-migrants tend to retain more extensive business networks while developing valuable local contacts (Bosworth, 2006). As endogenous actors with diverse networks, in-migrants are well placed to strengthen connectivity with the ‘extra-local’ and introduce new vitality to rural economies

Education, mobility and rural business development

Purpose – In a period of rural economic change, knowledge and skills transfers and the generation of new economic opportunities are seen as essential for promoting rural development. The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence of the impact of educated in-migrants establishing new business activity in rural areas. Design/methodology/approach – The research employs qualitative interviews with rural business owners informed by an earlier postal survey of rural microbusinesses in the North East of England. The interview data are used to explore the implications of owners’ past education and work experience for the development of their businesses. The attitudes and networking behaviour of business owners are also explored in order to assess the extent to which social capital facilitates the exchange of valuable knowledge and opportunities between rural businesses. Findings – Data indicate that rural in-migrants, defined as having moved at least 30 miles as adults, arrive with significantly higher education qualifications than their local business-owning counterparts. It also indicates that those with higher levels of education are most likely to engage with networking groups and business advice providers. This leads to the conclusion that as well as bringing higher levels of human capital, the integration of in-migrants into local economies is indirectly increasing the potential levels of human and social capital across the rural economy. Originality/value – The research highlights important data concerning the levels of education among in-migrants and local business owners. It continues by developing theoretical explanations about the way that a business owner’s background can influence their business activity. This raises awareness of the diversity of skills and networks among rural business owners that are enhancing the stocks of human and social capital in the rural economy

Motivations for moving among Commercial Counterurbanisers

This paper reports on findings from business surveys and face to face interviews conducted in the North East and East Midlands regions of the UK. Previous studies into residential counterurbanisation have shown a range of factors influencing individuals’ choices to move house. Here, it is hypothesised that for some commercial counterurbanisers, those rural in-migrants running businesses in their new rural locality, there will be different influences. Focusing on two groups of commercial counterurbanisers, the planned and un-planned business starters, it is also hypothesised that the different expectations and influences will affect their subsequent perceptions of the rural area as a place to do business. Greater understanding of the characteristics of place that are attractive to business starters and latent entrepreneurs can guide spatial economic policy which has become increasingly concerned with “place competitiveness†(Bristow, 2011). Keywords: Commercial Counterurbanisation, entrepreneurship, place competition, competitiveness, rural business, rural economy.

The role of the private sector in regional economic recovery: the case of a middling district in Middle England

As the policies of the UK’s new coalition government unfold, it appears that the private sector will take the bulk of the responsibility for sustaining economic recovery. In order to understand the implications for local economies, this paper highlights areas of growth potential and the barriers that business-owners are encountering. Based on a postal survey of businesses in the study area of Newark and Sherwood, a representative rural district in a middling region, research has identified that the majority of firms are still planning to grow despite significant concerns over investment finance and working capital. Furthermore, 17% say that they will definitely recruit new full time staff within 2 years while a further 36% are considering it. This paper expands on these findings and also explores the skills needs and barriers that are preventing growth from being realised. The aim is to provide policy guidance to support the development of local economies emerging from recession and to consider the longer terms implications of the characteristics of local labour markets

Identifying social innovations in local rural development initiatives

In this paper we draw on earlier research into community-led rural development initiatives to advance understanding of the meaning and scope of "social innovation". Taking a Schumpeterian view, we assert that innovations emerge from new combinations of resources and should bring about positive changes to create value. Teasing out the key feature of social innovation, we re-visit data from 5 different national contexts. This allows us to develop a clearer understanding of social innovation as a key driver of development in rural areas and to identify where and how social value is create

The relationship between rurality, skills and productivity in the East Midlands: summary

This summary report sets out the findings of research into the relationship between rurality, skills and productivity in the East Midlands. The report has been prepared by the Enterprise Research and Development Unit (ERDU) at the University of Lincoln on behalf of the East Midlands Development Agency (emda). The full report, which includes the detailed data analysis that underpins the findings set out in this report, is available separately

Opportunities for greater Lincolnshire's supply chains: summary report

A study of the key sector supply chains across Lincolnshire and the barriers and opportunities for growth

The relationship between rurality, skills and productivity in the East Midlands: final report

This report sets out the findings of research into the relationship between rurality, skills and productivity in the East Midlands. The report has been prepared by the Enterprise Research and Development Unit (ERDU) at the University of Lincoln on behalf of the East Midlands Development Agency (emda)